# Summerswap 2014 Discussion



## Babs28 (May 18, 2014)

Summerswap 2014
 
 :sunshine:  Summerswap Reveal thread :sunshine:  (click on the link)
Because Midsummer Night’s Dream (Secret Santa Summer 2014) had such high interest but was designed as an intimate way for Secret Santa 2013 participants to reconnect with other participants, we had the great idea of SUMMERSWAP 2014! Summer is a great time for music festivals :mussical: , beaches, the pool, hanging out, and of course – friendship! :hugs3:   Who doesn't love to shower and be showered with pretties?  Please join us for SUMMERSWAP 2014!  
 
SUMMERSWAP 2014 will be open to all MUT members who meet the following criteria:
                -- A minimum of 45 days membership with MuT (Must be a member since April 15, 2014)
                -- A minimum of 50 meaningful posts
                -- Members must be in good standing with 0 warning points and/or no negative trade ratings
 
Think of SUMMERSWAP 2014 as a great big festival where we all get together for fun and sharing in our common LOVE  :luv:  of makeup in the style of a Secret Santa (Stealthy, stalking, ninja h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  :santa:  like Santas, so we can each surprise our giftee!). 
 
The following is our timeline:
May 20 - June 2 : sign ups (in the sign up thread) &amp; simple questionaire fill out
June 9 - 13 : SUMMERSWAP buddy information sent out
June 14 - July 26: Shopping for your new SUMMERSWAP buddy
July 27 - Aug 8 : send out gifts; reveals posted
 
 
Questions can be posted here or you can PM me (@babs28) or @!
 
*NOTE: Please do not contact magicalmom, meaganola or allistra24 REGARDING Summerswap 2014. Also, DO NOT CONTACT THE MIDSUMMER'S FAIRIES either!  It is a COMPLETELY SEPARATE event from Summerswap. They have enough to do dealing with the Midsummer's event. They don't need to be redirecting questions, etc., back to us. We will post "Roadie" (helpers) signups in another thread shortly.  *
 
Happy Summerswapping!
Babs28 &amp; usofjessamerica


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## jayeme (May 18, 2014)

How exciting! I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to participate but I'll figure it out as the sign up deadline approaches  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I didn't get to participate in the Secret Santa so I'm glad to have this opportunity! Thanks for organizing this!


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## BSquared (May 18, 2014)

Ooooo exciting! I was for sure gonna do the winter one but maybe I'll do this one too!


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## tacehtpuekam (May 18, 2014)

So, is this working exactly like Secret Santa? Or is it a 'swap' where you'd buy a gift for the person who's buying you a gift?


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## Babs28 (May 18, 2014)

@[email protected] Welcome! We hope you participate!



allistra44 said:


> So, is this working exactly like Secret Santa? Or is it a 'swap' where you'd buy a gift for the person who's buying you a gift?


@ It will work exactly like a Secret Santa.


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## kawaiisofoxy (May 18, 2014)

Sounds exciting! I'm gonna look at my budget to see if I can swing two exchanges but yay! I'm so glad there's another exchange for people to do!


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## marigoldsue (May 18, 2014)

@@Babs28, you are my HERO.  I was so jealous I couldn't participate in the other one since I did not find MUT until Jan of this year.  I am SO IN on this one though....YAY!!!!!!!!!


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## Deareux (May 18, 2014)

Whoohoo! I think I'm going to get in on this one too! I simply love shopping for other people!


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## PeridotCricket (May 18, 2014)

I want to do this one.


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## Babs28 (May 18, 2014)

@  @@PeridotCricket @@Deareux @@marigoldsue 

Welcome ladies!  The more the merrier!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## bonita22 (May 19, 2014)

This is a great idea! I love these secret gift exchanges. I have lots of Birchbox points, so I might sign up for this one as well  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Lolo22 (May 19, 2014)

Boxes go out the week of my birthday? I think that means I need to join!!! These are so fun  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (May 19, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Boxes go out the week of my birthday? I think that means I need to join!!! These are so fun  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


That's the week of my birthday too!  It will probably be the best birthday gift ever!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 19, 2014)

I'm so excited for all of you who are joining in on the fun!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## lacylei (May 19, 2014)

How do you know if you have enough posts?


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## chelsealady (May 19, 2014)

lacylei said:


> How do you know if you have enough posts?


I think you can see it from your profile. But you have 49.


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## SaraP (May 19, 2014)

Oh YaY sign me up!! I really wanted to do the Midsummer Night’s Dream, but wasn't eligible. I was content to just be a Fairy helper, so this is awesome!!


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## lacylei (May 19, 2014)

Grr I have to stop being such a lurker


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## chelsealady (May 19, 2014)

lacylei said:


> Grr I have to stop being such a lurker


Sign ups aren't over till the 2nd. You got plenary of time to get the post count. Cause now you have 50.


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## CurlyTails (May 19, 2014)

Sounds like fun!


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## trekkersangel (May 19, 2014)

Ooh!! I think I may want to be a part of this one too. . Must look at my budget but it may work out since this one is a few weeks later than the other one.


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## Babs28 (May 19, 2014)

sarap said:


> Oh YaY sign me up!! I really wanted to do the Midsummer Night’s Dream, but wasn't eligible. I was content to just be a Fairy helper, so this is awesome!!


I've never done a Secret Santa type thing on MuT so I am super excited about it!  I didn't have enough time here at MuT to participate in the last Secret Santa but it looked like so much fun!!!



usofjessamerica said:


> I'm so excited for all of you who are joining in on the fun!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Me too!  I've already mentally started figuring out where I can get the most bang for my buck and pulling out some unused gift cards!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />



trekkersangel said:


> Ooh!! I think I may want to be a part of this one too. . Must look at my budget but it may work out since this one is a few weeks later than the other one.


We'd love to have you join us!  I hope you can!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (May 19, 2014)

lacylei said:


> How do you know if you have enough posts?


You have enough posts!  Sign ups start tomorrow!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Krystyn Lowe (May 20, 2014)

Awesome, this looks like so much fun!! Hoping to join in!


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## Babs28 (May 20, 2014)

Krystyn Lowe said:


> Awesome, this looks like so much fun!! Hoping to join in!


Well, you have plenty of time to get your post count up by the time sign ups end on June 2nd.  Please be sure that your posts add to the discussions you post in.  This is so that we can get to know you and you can get to know MuT and it's members!

We'd love to have you participate!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (May 20, 2014)

I'm planning on jumping on board here, too!  But a little note:  I'm not planning on maintaining a directory/helper list for this one, and I'm not going to add people only doing Summerswap to the Godchild directory.  I'm assuming there will be different surveys, and it's going to be too hard for me to keep the lists straight, plus I'm not involved in the planning/organization on this one.  Thanks!


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 20, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I'm planning on jumping on board here, too!  But a little note:  I'm not planning on maintaining a directory/helper list for this one, and I'm not going to add people only doing Summerswap to the Godchild directory.  I'm assuming there will be different surveys, and it's going to be too hard for me to keep the lists straight, plus I'm not involved in the planning/organization on this one.  Thanks!


Don't worry, we have been planning and have had it covered for a while. We weren't looking for more helpers in the logistical sense for this swap. Thanks though!


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## meaganola (May 20, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Don't worry, we have been planning and have had it covered for a while. We weren't looking for more helpers in the logistical sense for this swap. Thanks though!


Oh, this was more of a heads-up for the people who might be posting in the Midsummer survey thread thinking it was for Summerswap. There's at least one person who has apparently done that already, and there may be more I just haven't realized have done this.


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## turntrekgodhead (May 20, 2014)

My first swap ever, I can't wait!


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## tacehtpuekam (May 20, 2014)

Is there going to be a separate thread for signups? Or is it just this thread?


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## DonnaD (May 20, 2014)

I was really excited about this until I read that handmade things don't count.  Everybody goes over budget anyway but I think about how much yarn costs me and I just get sort of offended that I shouldn't count it towards the limit,  It doesn't matter that I would probably overspend on other things anyway, but I guess it's the principle of it.

I'm not going to partake of this one.


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 20, 2014)

allistra44 said:


> Is there going to be a separate thread for signups? Or is it just this thread?


we'll have a separate sign up thread! almost ready to go!


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## Dashery (May 20, 2014)

Yay! I am thrilled! I have to sign up for this! *zooms off*


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## SaraP (May 20, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I was really excited about this until I read that handmade things don't count.  Everybody goes over budget anyway but I think about how much yarn costs me and I just get sort of offended that I shouldn't count it towards the limit,  It doesn't matter that I would probably overspend on other things anyway, but I guess it's the principle of it.
> 
> I'm not going to partake of this one.


@@DonnaD

I took a look at 2012 Christmas swap (couldn't find 2013!?!?), because this is my first swap and I wanted to see if people really stuck to the budget guideline. I think some did and some didn't, if you chose to include the cost of your yarn the receiving person should be fine with that...Really it's a gift not a trade, right?

I received a knit blanket for my first child and loved it. So I learned to crochet and I made blankets for all the new babies in our lives, but I never got the feeling that anyone was really wowed by them and they take a ton of time and cost way more then one from a store. So I quit doing it. I think we now under value 'homemade'.


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## Lolo22 (May 20, 2014)

I understand the need for the rules but I would hate to see homemade gifts discouraged, since they can be most the special.  @@DonnaD's gloves were beautiful and should be shared with the world :wub: Maybe it could somehow be worked into the survey, if there will be one?


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## BSquared (May 20, 2014)

Yeah I agree homemade gifts are fun!! Personally, I think if someone gets their swap box and immediately thinks "this is home made and not worth $25", they need to reevaluate their life choices and direct themselves to have a seat, but that's just me. (Edit: that sounds kinda harsh. I mean of it's something nice and homemade not if it's like..gross. I don't know what I'm trying to say, hopefully someone gets it lol)

I mean, I get it, you don't want someone who's not very artsy (ex: me) to make like, macaroni art collages and say "that is worth at least $300!!" But at the same time if that happened to me I'd probably laugh. There's gotta be a way to figure it out...maybe along with the survey idea ask if people are open to home made gifts and if they make home made gifts then try and pair those people up? Not sure if that's a ton of work for our lovely coordinators though...


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## trekkersangel (May 20, 2014)

Oh my goodness! @@DonnaD makes the most beautiful knitted gloves you've ever seen in your life! I know I would love anything anyone made me even if it went toward the budget. For me these swaps are way more than just getting make up &amp; beauty supplies. I love getting to know the fabulous ladies here, their personalities, everything about them. These swaps are an experience. They are magical. They are super fun!

@@DonnaD please stay! I would love to have you as my secret gifter or as my giftee! You're too fun! We need your personality on here!


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## tweakabell (May 20, 2014)

I took this to mean as it doesn't count towards your $25 if you don't want it to. I have palettes in my stash and if I were to gift them you'd be sure that that amount was taken out of my $25 just because I own it already doesn't make it free.


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## SaraP (May 20, 2014)

That's reasonable, if it's new and unused then it should totally count towards the total. I know most people will go overboard, but to anyone who gets me I will be totally happy with whatever is sent. Mostly I love that we get to 'know' each other and have fun interacting. Not everyone has a ton of disposable income and it would be a shame if they felt that they couldn't join in the fun because of $$.


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## tweakabell (May 20, 2014)

Yup I usually end up with extras of things because of shipping costs. If its a good deal and I'll have use of it even if it doesn't get gifted, multiples it is.


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## Babs28 (May 20, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I was really excited about this until I read that handmade things don't count.  Everybody goes over budget anyway but I think about how much yarn costs me and I just get sort of offended that I shouldn't count it towards the limit,  It doesn't matter that I would probably overspend on other things anyway, but I guess it's the principle of it.
> 
> I'm not going to partake of this one.


@@DonnaD I sent you a PM.

I tried to quote everyone and I guess there is a limit so I will say this:

In my haste to get the post up, I left out the word, "HAVE".  The sentence was supposed to read, "....does NOT HAVE to count...".  We all know that we love to shower our giftee with pretties and find creative ways to do it.  It was supposed to be a "cute" enabling sentence (with a wink wink) that in NO WAY meant to devalue the hard work put into a homemade gift.  It was my error and I apologize. In the end, it is up to the gift giver to decide whether their box meets the $25 min/max and whether they think their box will put a smile on the receiver's face.  It is, really, after all, the thought that counts and the participation in the threads leading up to the actual gift reveal.


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## DonnaD (May 20, 2014)

sarap said:


> @@DonnaD
> 
> I took a look at 2012 Christmas swap (couldn't find 2013!?!?), because this is my first swap and I wanted to see if people really stuck to the budget guideline. I think some did and some didn't, if you chose to include the cost of your yarn the receiving person should be fine with that...Really it's a gift not a trade, right?
> 
> I received a knit blanket for my first child and loved it. So I learned to crochet and I made blankets for all the new babies in our lives, but I never got the feeling that anyone was really wowed by them and they take a ton of time and cost way more then one from a store. So I quit doing it. I think we now under value 'homemade'.


@@SaraP I can't believe  your efforts weren't well received.   Almost every single person I know loves getting blankies.  People have literally begged me to make them afghans.  Want to see some of my work?  https://www.flickr.com/photos/dslip/sets/72157602370882793/


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## puppymomofthree (May 20, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> @@SaraP I can't believe your efforts weren't well received. Almost every single person I know loves getting blankies. People have literally begged me to make them afghans. Want to see some of my work? https://www.flickr.com/photos/dslip/sets/72157602370882793/


Those are lovely and I adore the cat cameos!


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## DonnaD (May 20, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @@DonnaD I sent you a PM.
> 
> I tried to quote everyone and I guess there is a limit so I will say this:
> 
> In my haste to get the post up, I left out the word, "HAVE".  The sentence was supposed to read, "....does NOT HAVE to count...".  We all know that we love to shower our giftee with pretties and find creative ways to do it.  It was supposed to be a "cute" enabling sentence (with a wink wink) that in NO WAY meant to devalue the hard work put into a homemade gift.  It was my error and I apologize. In the end, it is up to the gift giver to decide whether their box meets the $25 min/max and whether they think their box will put a smile on the receiver's face.  It is, really, after all, the thought that counts and the participation in the threads leading up to the actual gift reveal.


Thanks so much for clarifying that.  Since I'm big on homemade, I'll definitely be participating.  I have so much fun making stuff for people and it thrills me that people actually seem to like what I make.  It's really all very selfish on my part.  I just want to be worshiped for the crocheting goddess that I am.


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## DonnaD (May 20, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> Those are lovely and I adore the cat cameos!


They're my quality control team.


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## nolongeravaliable15 (May 20, 2014)

Sounds like so much fun! Count me in  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (May 20, 2014)

The sign up thread will be active tomorrow, May 21st. My 5 year old son is having an allergic reaction to something and I have to take him to the ER.  I'm sorry guys!!!  The thread will DEFINITELY be up tomorrow.


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## SaraP (May 20, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> The sign up thread will be active tomorrow, May 21st. My 5 year old son is having an allergic reaction to something and I have to take him to the ER.  I'm sorry guys!!!  The thread will DEFINITELY be up tomorrow.


Oh no, hope he feels better soon!!


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## ikecarus (May 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> @@SaraP I can't believe  your efforts weren't well received.   Almost every single person I know loves getting blankies.  People have literally begged me to make them afghans.  Want to see some of my work?  https://www.flickr.com/photos/dslip/sets/72157602370882793/


Oh my gosh your work is amazing!  :wub:


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> The sign up thread will be active tomorrow, May 21st. My 5 year old son is having an allergic reaction to something and I have to take him to the ER.  I'm sorry guys!!!  The thread will DEFINITELY be up tomorrow.


Oh no!  I hope he's okay.  xoxo


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## valeried44 (May 21, 2014)

I'm really excited, I'd love to do this!  I need to break out of my shell a little and become more involved here.  

@@DonnaD  Beautiful blankets!  I tried to teach myself to crochet by just watching videos, but I mess up somewhere in stitch placement.  So, the yarn and supplies I bought sits until I find someone who can stand next to me and walk me through it.  

@@Babs28  I hope things go well with your little guy.


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## trekkersangel (May 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Thanks so much for clarifying that.  Since I'm big on homemade, I'll definitely be participating.  I have so much fun making stuff for people and it thrills me that people actually seem to like what I make.  It's really all very selfish on my part.  I just want to be worshiped for the crocheting goddess that I am.


You see? And that comment right there is why we need/want you in this thing! Gosh Donna you keep me smiling!


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## Babs28 (May 21, 2014)

Thanks, everyone!  Not sure what he had a reaction to but he's ok. He got a "shot" and was asking for cool bandaids so that's definitely a sign that he's ok. We are finally home now. I'm going to get some sleep and then I'll post the sign up thread.


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 21, 2014)

I'm so happy all of you are joining! Feel free to spread the word. The more the merrier  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jennm149 (May 21, 2014)

Nice to see so much good news overnight.  @@Babs28, glad your little guy is doing OK.  @@DonnaD, glad to see you're in and that your gorgeous gifts will get the recognition they deserve.

I think I'm more or less done shopping for the Midsummer Night's Dream swap, and I've got plenty of points and credits to continue on with this one.  In the spirit, I may actually try my hand at something "crafty," too.  What a fun way to get through the summer heat!


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## SaraP (May 21, 2014)

@@Babs28 Glad he's feeling better! Has he been allergy tested? My oldest had the test, which sounds scary when the Dr explained it, but it wasn't bad and it shed light onto some of the issues we had.

FYI the dear Dr explained it as a bunch of needles, which is better left unsaid. In reality it was a row of needles and it barely breaks the skin (very little pain) and my wimpy little one said it was better then the immunization shots.


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## Dashery (May 21, 2014)

sarap said:


> @@Babs28 Glad he's feeling better! Has he been allergy tested? My oldest had the test, which sounds scary when the Dr explained it, but it wasn't bad and it shed light onto some of the issues we had.
> 
> FYI the dear Dr explained it as a bunch of needles, which is better left unsaid. In reality it was a row of needles and it barely breaks the skin (very little pain) and my wimpy little one said it was better then the immunization shots.


Yep. I've had it done. It's so fast and light that you barely feel it. It's more jarring than painful, like if someone poked you without you knowing they were there. If that makes any sense. Haha


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## tgooberbutt (May 21, 2014)

Looking to sign up  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Where do I do that? Or did I just sign up with this post? Hooray!


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## Christa W (May 21, 2014)

I cannot express how happy I was to read the line about Birchbox and other items not counting. I got seriously screwed over on a Reddit exchange last month by getting an Ipsy leftover and some old Juleps!!

So excited for this.


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## CurlyTails (May 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> @@SaraP I can't believe  your efforts weren't well received.   Almost every single person I know loves getting blankies.  People have literally begged me to make them afghans.  Want to see some of my work?  https://www.flickr.com/photos/dslip/sets/72157602370882793/


Those are absolutely gorgeous!


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## jayeme (May 21, 2014)

Okay, after some budget considerations, I am definitely going to participate in this! Now I'm just eagerly awaiting the sign up thread! (Unless it's already up and I can't find it? Idk. I have been having some problems navigating MUT.)


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## Babs28 (May 21, 2014)

I'm working on the signup thread now!  I'll post here (and respond to specific posts about my son, etc) when I'm done!


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## lauralai28 (May 21, 2014)

I'd love this! Am I eligible?


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## Babs28 (May 21, 2014)

The signup thread is now posted and live!


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## Babs28 (May 21, 2014)

lauralai28 said:


> I'd love this! Am I eligible?


Hi @@lauralai28! 

I'm so excited you want to participate.

Right now you meet 2 out of the 3 requirements.  You need to have 50 meaningful posts by the time sign ups end (June 2nd). Right now, you have 14 posts.  What we mean by "meaningful posts" are posts that contribute to the thread you are posting to, not just one or two word responses.  The purpose of that requirement is so that you can get to know the members of MuT and we can get to know you.  So find a few threads that are interesting to you (clearly this one is  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ) and jump right into the conversation! Please sign up once you have the minimum post requirements.

Also, since you are relatively new to posting, (I'm putting my Moderator cap on now for a minute   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ) I would suggest that you read the MuT Terms of Service which can be found here: *Terms of Service *


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> The signup thread is now posted and live!


Never mind


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

@@Babs28, I found it but there's no link to the google docs thing.


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

Also can someone smarter than me tell me how to make a list to put in my signature?  I'm hopelessly unable to figure out how to do that with this new wordpress forum.


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## meaganola (May 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Also can someone smarter than me tell me how to make a list to put in my signature?  I'm hopelessly unable to figure out how to do that with this new wordpress forum.


If you're on desktop:


Click the down arrow next to your name next to the PM/notification icons
Click on black Edit My Profile on the right side of the screen
Click on Signature in column on the left (under Profile Settings, Profile Customization, and Email &amp; Password)

Boom!  There it is.


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

meaganola said:


> If you're on desktop:
> 
> 
> Click the down arrow next to your name next to the PM/notification icons
> ...


No, I need to make a list.  How do I make the list.  I know how to put it in my signature but I don't know how to make it.


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

PS:  I looked in tutorials but there are none yet.


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## jayeme (May 21, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> The signup thread is now posted and live!


Yay! Question: I'm moving on Monday and I don't know my new address. Can I sign up now so I don't forget and message you my updated address later? Or do I need to wait until I have the right info to fill out the Google form?


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## meaganola (May 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> No, I need to make a list.  How do I make the list.  I know how to put it in my signature but I don't know how to make it.


Ah, whoops, I misunderstood!  Here are the directions I wrote up for Midsummer Night's Dream:



> First, go here:http://www.makeuptal...3-makeup-nails/
> 
> Click on Start New Topic.  Then fill out your dreamlist title, then fill out the body of the post, then click Post New Topic, et voila!  You have a new url to add to your survey and/or signature!


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

Thanks!


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## Babs28 (May 21, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Yay! Question: I'm moving on Monday and I don't know my new address. Can I sign up now so I don't forget and message you my updated address later? Or do I need to wait until I have the right info to fill out the Google form?


@@jayeme - Sure.  Since the address is a required field, just put will PM new address (or something along those lines) in each box.


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## Babs28 (May 21, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ah, whoops, I misunderstood!  Here are the directions I wrote up for Midsummer Night's Dream:


Thanks meaganola!  That's a big help!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jayeme (May 21, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @@jayeme - Sure.  Since the address is a required field, just put will PM new address (or something along those lines) in each box.


Yay, thanks! One more question - do I fill in the fields with more general stuff or specific items? Are we supposed to make a wishlist in addition to the survey or is this all the info that is given?


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## Babs28 (May 21, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Yay, thanks! One more question - do I fill in the fields with more general stuff or specific items? Are we supposed to make a wishlist in addition to the survey or is this all the info that is given?


It's your choice to fill in the general or specific items.  All required answers are starred.  I would suggest making a wish list (and answering the questions in the survey) so that it is easier for your Swap Buddy to shop for you.


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## Dashery (May 21, 2014)

Can we just kidnap the Midsummer survey?


----------



## Babs28 (May 21, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Can we just kidnap the Midsummer survey?


Feel free to post any information you would like in your Summerswap BST post but we aren't making any changes to the survey that is up now, nor are we going to post another survey for people to fill out.  Summerswap was designed to be very simple.

When we put up the Roadies (helpers) thread, you can use a Roadie to ask your Swap Buddy whatever you would like.


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## jayeme (May 21, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> It's your choice to fill in the general or specific items.  All required answers are starred.  I would suggest making a wish list (and answering the questions in the survey) so that it is easier for your Swap Buddy to shop for you.


Thanks! I think my answers were kind of all over the place...hopefully it's okay!


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

I did it!!  I made a list!  I feel much smarter now.

I can't wait to get my person!!


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## Christa W (May 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I did it!!  I made a list!  I feel much smarter now.
> 
> I can't wait to get my person!!


YAY!!!  I am still lost as all get out.  I just want to buy something for someone.  Not sure I understand what I am supposed to do.


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## DonnaD (May 21, 2014)

Christa W said:


> YAY!!!  I am still lost as all get out.  I just want to buy something for someone.  Not sure I understand what I am supposed to do.


Go here:  https://www.makeuptalk.com/f/topic/132363-summerswap-2014-signups-now-open/  You have until 6/2

Fill out the google docs thing in the first post, then post in that thread that you've signed up.  In a couple of weeks they'll match you up with someone!  Then you have until the end of July to shop and send!


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## SaraP (May 21, 2014)

Thanks for all the hard work @@Babs28!


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## SaraP (May 22, 2014)

Just signed up...anyone know how to make a wish list?


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## Dashery (May 22, 2014)

Woot! Just made my dreamlist! I hope it's good. *nervous nail biting*.

@@SaraP To make my list, I just went over to the Makeup &amp; Nails section of the BST forum and added a new thread. I used some of the questions from the Midsummer swap, some of my own, and linked to my wishlists of Amazon and Sephora. That type of thing. Hope that's the info you were looking for!  :lol:


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## SaraP (May 22, 2014)

How do we insert a spoiler...please help me, apparently I have no idea how to use this site :scared:


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## tacehtpuekam (May 22, 2014)

sarap said:


> How do we insert a spoiler...please help me, apparently I have no idea how to use this site :scared:


Type [ spoiler ] before the text/image you want in the spoiler. And then [ /spoiler ] after it. But without the spaces after/before the brackets  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (May 22, 2014)

Thanks girls!!


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## Kelly Silva (May 22, 2014)

I made my wish list too! That was fun! Like shopping except my wallet wasn't a frowny face!  :lol:


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## Kristine Walker (May 22, 2014)

I hope I don't get confused between the two swaps! If we're doing both will we get different giftee for each one?


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## Babs28 (May 22, 2014)

sarap said:


> Thanks for all the hard work @@Babs28!


You're welcome!  @ has been a big help behind the scenes too!  Come out come out wherever you are!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />



Kristine Walker said:


> I hope I don't get confused between the two swaps! If we're doing both will we get different giftee for each one?


These are two entirely separate swaps.  Whoever signs up here will get a giftee from the the pool of people who sign up here.  I believe Midsummer has already been assigned their giftee!


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 22, 2014)

Don't forget that this and the Midsummer are two totally different exchanges! We didn't make a survey or anything except the questions asked on the sign up form - and those answers will be shared with your Swap Buddy. If you had any info to share with your Swap Buddy, don't forget to post it in this thread and not in the Midsummer discussion or survey thread.


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## meaganola (May 22, 2014)

Midsummer Night's Dream fairies are already getting requests from Summerswap participants for help with this one!  Please please please, for the sake of our sanity, do not do that, especially since partners on this one aren't even assigned yet!

ETA:  Just testing something in this ETA section.  Feel free to ignore.


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 22, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Midsummer Night's Dream fairies are already getting requests from Summerswap participants for help with this one! Please please please, for the sake of our sanity, do not do that, especially since partners on this one aren't even assigned yet!


Please redirect those PMs to me (or let the fairy squad know to just redirect them to me)


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## jennm149 (May 22, 2014)

The timing of these works out for me, as I'm almost done Midsummer swap buying, have some busy weeks at work in June, but will be ready to start up buying again in early July. 

My plan is that if I have a SummerSwap "giftee" buddy who is also participating in the Midsummer Fairy swap, I'm just going to wait to buy anything for this one until after the reveals there.  That way, I'll know what she's already received and can avoid any "big" duplicates in what she's sent.  I know most of you probably wouldn't mind, but I'd like to make sure you get something new and exciting!

To my SummerSwap gifting buddy -- I'll be putting some items in my Wish List that aren't on my Fairy list, so if you are anxious to start your shopping, maybe it will give you some ideas that (hopefully) my Midsummer FGM won't already have thought of!


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## meaganola (May 22, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> My plan is that if I have a SummerSwap "giftee" buddy who is also participating in the Midsummer Fairy swap, I'm just going to wait to buy anything for this one until after the reveals there. That way, I'll know what she's already received and can avoid any "big" duplicates in what she's sent. I know most of you probably wouldn't mind, but I'd like to make sure you get something new and exciting!
> 
> To my SummerSwap gifting buddy -- I'll be putting some items in my Wish List that aren't on my Fairy list, so if you are anxious to start your shopping, maybe it will give you some ideas that (hopefully) my Midsummer FGM won't already have thought of!


I have the same concerns! And I'm a bit worried that I might get matched to the same person I'm buying for in Midsummer. I could easily send her a second present given all of my Ideas for her, but it's just more fun if it's a different person.


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## Lolo22 (May 22, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> The timing of these works out for me, as I'm almost done Midsummer swap buying, have some busy weeks at work in June, but will be ready to start up buying again in early July.
> 
> My plan is that if I have a SummerSwap "giftee" buddy who is also participating in the Midsummer Fairy swap, I'm just going to wait to buy anything for this one until after the reveals there. That way, I'll know what she's already received and can avoid any "big" duplicates in what she's sent. I know most of you probably wouldn't mind, but I'd like to make sure you get something new and exciting!
> 
> To my SummerSwap gifting buddy -- I'll be putting some items in my Wish List that aren't on my Fairy list, so if you are anxious to start your shopping, maybe it will give you some ideas that (hopefully) my Midsummer FGM won't already have thought of!


Same here, depending on the timing of the midsummer reveals we might not see what they got or only have a few days to make adjustments. I also feel weird making another wish list but I guess I can try to find some different things for it. If I do get someone who's also doing the midsummer swap I think I will want to see if i can collab with their godmother. Maybe it won't be an issue though, since a lot of us are close to done shopping already.


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## BSquared (May 22, 2014)

Oooo that's a good point/idea...question for the people coordination the midsummer fairy swap so @@meaganola or anyone else that is running it...

If  we get assigned someone that is doing both swaps, can we ask a fairy to put us in contact with the person that has our person for the other swap to see what they're sending?

That sounds odd, I'll use Lolo22 as an example name since she's right above me on this post and I'm too lazy to scroll any further up. So if I get LoLo22 as my giftee for this swap, and she is ALSO signed up for midsummer, can I ask a fairy to put me in contact with LoLo22's godmother for the midsummer swap so we can coordinate what she is getting? Or is that too much work/going to make things too confusing???


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## meaganola (May 22, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Oooo that's a good point/idea...question for the people coordination the midsummer fairy swap so @@meaganola or anyone else that is running it...
> 
> If we get assigned someone that is doing both swaps, can we ask a fairy to put us in contact with the person that has our person for the other swap to see what they're sending?
> 
> That sounds odd, I'll use Lolo22 as an example name since she's right above me on this post and I'm too lazy to scroll any further up. So if I get LoLo22 as my giftee for this swap, and she is ALSO signed up for midsummer, can I ask a fairy to put me in contact with LoLo22's godmother for the midsummer swap so we can coordinate what she is getting? Or is that too much work/going to make things too confusing???


Fairies don't have access to godchild assignment information. *I* don't have all of that information, and I'm helping run Midsummer. This might just be One Of Those Things that doesn't have a solution.


----------



## tacehtpuekam (May 22, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Oooo that's a good point/idea...question for the people coordination the midsummer fairy swap so @@meaganola or anyone else that is running it...
> 
> If  we get assigned someone that is doing both swaps, can we ask a fairy to put us in contact with the person that has our person for the other swap to see what they're sending?
> 
> That sounds odd, I'll use Lolo22 as an example name since she's right above me on this post and I'm too lazy to scroll any further up. So if I get LoLo22 as my giftee for this swap, and she is ALSO signed up for midsummer, can I ask a fairy to put me in contact with LoLo22's godmother for the midsummer swap so we can coordinate what she is getting? Or is that too much work/going to make things too confusing???


I think that will be a question for @! She has the master Godmother/Godchild list.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 22, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Oooo that's a good point/idea...question for the people coordination the midsummer fairy swap so @@meaganola or anyone else that is running it...
> 
> If we get assigned someone that is doing both swaps, can we ask a fairy to put us in contact with the person that has our person for the other swap to see what they're sending?
> 
> That sounds odd, I'll use Lolo22 as an example name since she's right above me on this post and I'm too lazy to scroll any further up. So if I get LoLo22 as my giftee for this swap, and she is ALSO signed up for midsummer, can I ask a fairy to put me in contact with LoLo22's godmother for the midsummer swap so we can coordinate what she is getting? Or is that too much work/going to make things too confusing???


I get what your concern is and how you're trying to make it easier for everyone (and avoid dupes! Of course!!) but that would kinda "force" a reveal, yanno? Like the Midsummer giver would have to reveal to the fairy who they have even if they didn't want to do that / didn't originally have a use for a fairy in order to coordinate with you. I think that could get complicated. The purpose of this was not for it to become a "team" gift giving event but I totally understand your sentiment.

From a receiving standpoint, I would recommend either having 2 lists (if you're really worried about dupes) and from a giving standpoint - just try to keep your person happy!


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## trekkersangel (May 22, 2014)

I'm doing both swaps. . . mostly because I really really really love putting together these packages.  I have so much fun deciding on a theme &amp; just running with it.  It makes me feel creative &amp; like I'm doing something meaningful.  

Anyone who gets me in either swap, I don't mind if I get a dupe of anything.  My lists are quite vague actually &amp; I doubt there will even be any dupes.  I'm more about getting to know my gifter through what she chooses to send me.  I want HER favorite things.

I'm not going to worry too much about participating in both.  My goal is to make my little giftees as happy as I can.  I want to make them smile &amp; feel loved &amp; feel like someone really worked hard to put together something magical just for them.  That's why I love these swaps.  I'm really excited to have the opportunity to participate in both.


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## BSquared (May 22, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> I get what your concern is and how you're trying to make it easier for everyone (and avoid dupes! Of course!!) but that would kinda "force" a reveal, yanno? Like the Midsummer giver would have to reveal to the fairy who they have even if they didn't want to do that / didn't originally have a use for a fairy in order to coordinate with you. I think that could get complicated. The purpose of this was not for it to become a "team" gift giving event but I totally understand your sentiment.
> 
> From a receiving standpoint, I would recommend either having 2 lists (if you're really worried about dupes) and from a giving standpoint - just try to keep your person happy!


Ooooo that's true. I don't want to ruin any surprises!!! Ok makes sense!

This is my first one so I"m probably making this way more complicated than it needs to be    Story of my life....


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## DonnaD (May 22, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I'm doing both swaps. . . mostly because I really really really love putting together these packages.  I have so much fun deciding on a theme &amp; just running with it.  It makes me feel creative &amp; like I'm doing something meaningful.
> 
> Anyone who gets me in either swap, I don't mind if I get a dupe of anything.  My lists are quite vague actually &amp; I doubt there will even be any dupes. * I'm more about getting to know my gifter through what she chooses to send me.  I want HER favorite things.*
> 
> I'm not going to worry too much about participating in both.  My goal is to make my little giftees as happy as I can.  I want to make them smile &amp; feel loved &amp; feel like someone really worked hard to put together something magical just for them.  That's why I love these swaps.  I'm really excited to have the opportunity to participate in both.


My sentiments exactly.  I even wrote it in my little cheat sheet last night!


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## turntrekgodhead (May 22, 2014)

I've signed!

Edit: Whoops, wrong thread, sorry.


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## kawaiisofoxy (May 22, 2014)

Thanks to @ for chiming in earlier, those are exactly my sentiments. I advise two separate swap lists, and if anyone wants to put up a list of things they already have (i.e. a list of palettes or lipsticks), that would be extremely helpful for Godmothers... Just sayin'  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

(And I promise my godmother I will take my own advice soon! I'm visiting family right now and my MUT access is restricted to "whatever I can read on my phone". I am trying to keep an eye on this thread though!)


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## BSquared (May 22, 2014)

Oh my list was so fun to make and it's a freaking novel. Man I love talking about myself. I'm such a mess :blush:


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## Dashery (May 22, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Oh my list was so fun to make and it's a freaking novel. Man I love talking about myself. I'm such a mess :blush:


Haha I'm with ya' on that one! I'll probably keep adding and amending mine until swap names are given out...


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## SaraP (May 22, 2014)

Anyone know how to link your list into your signature line??? Says the 95 year old women in me who still can't figure out this dang nab site!


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## Babs28 (May 22, 2014)

meaganola said:


> If you're on desktop:
> 
> 
> Click the down arrow next to your name next to the PM/notification icons
> ...





sarap said:


> Anyone know how to link your list into your signature line??? Says the 95 year old women in me who still can't figure out this dang nab site!


@@SaraP - see the instructions from meaganola.


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## chelsealady (May 22, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I'm doing both swaps. . . mostly because I really really really love putting together these packages.  I have so much fun deciding on a theme &amp; just running with it.  It makes me feel creative &amp; like I'm doing something meaningful.
> 
> Anyone who gets me in either swap, I don't mind if I get a dupe of anything.  My lists are quite vague actually &amp; I doubt there will even be any dupes.  I'm more about getting to know my gifter through what she chooses to send me.  I want HER favorite things.
> 
> I'm not going to worry too much about participating in both.  My goal is to make my little giftees as happy as I can.  I want to make them smile &amp; feel loved &amp; feel like someone really worked hard to put together something magical just for them.  That's why I love these swaps.  I'm really excited to have the opportunity to participate in both.


You took the words right out of my mouth.


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## CurlyTails (May 22, 2014)

I feel super accomplished - my first list, spoiler, and signature!


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 22, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I feel super accomplished - my first list, spoiler, and signature!


you go girl! proud of you!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (May 22, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Midsummer Night's Dream fairies are already getting requests from Summerswap participants for help with this one!  Please please please, for the sake of our sanity, do not do that, especially since partners on this one aren't even assigned yet!


Please do not contact magicalmom, meaganola, Allistra24 or any of the Midsummer Fairies regarding Summerswap.  :smileno:  They are busy enough without having to deal with misdirected Summerswap requests. Summerswap and Midsummers are totally separate events managed by two different sets of people. Please contact me (Babs28) or usofjessamerica with anything Summerswap related. :smilehappyyes:    I realize that everyone is super excited :w00t:  and can't wait to start doing something for their Summerswap Buddy but we will have "Roadie" (helper) signups shortly. Use a Summerswap Roadie when they become available. I understand people want to be prepared and ahead of the game (me included, I've started a mental shopping list for about 15 people so far :w00t: ) but we haven't even assigned Summerswap Buddies yet (I think the next 10 days are going to feel like the longest ever! :smiletongue:   )!!  

@@meaganola - should you receive anymore Summerswap related PMs, please just forward them to me! Thanks so much!



meaganola said:


> I have the same concerns! And I'm a bit worried that I might get matched to the same person I'm buying for in Midsummer. I could easily send her a second present given all of my Ideas for her, but it's just more fun if it's a different person.


I will be doing the Summerswap Buddy assignments and I am going to do my very best to make sure that Midsummer participants aren't matched with the same person.  I have a few ideas on how to do this so this isn't something anyone should worry about too much.



trekkersangel said:


> I'm doing both swaps. . . mostly because I really really really love putting together these packages.  I have so much fun deciding on a theme &amp; just running with it.  It makes me feel creative &amp; like I'm doing something meaningful.
> 
> Anyone who gets me in either swap, I don't mind if I get a dupe of anything.  My lists are quite vague actually &amp; I doubt there will even be any dupes.  I'm more about getting to know my gifter through what she chooses to send me.  I want HER favorite things.
> 
> I'm not going to worry too much about participating in both.  My goal is to make my little giftees as happy as I can.  I want to make them smile &amp; feel loved &amp; feel like someone really worked hard to put together something magical just for them.  That's why I love these swaps.  I'm really excited to have the opportunity to participate in both.


I'm not participating in both swaps but with regards to the sentiments about putting together the packages and what I receive, I totally agree.  My goal is to make my giftee feel special, beautiful and happy with what I send.  I enjoy selecting a theme, picking things out that I think my giftee will enjoy and putting the package together to fit the theme and my giftee.  As for what I receive, if I get a dupe of something that I already have, clearly I like the product enough to have it in the first place. Like trekkersangel and a few other women said, I want to get to know my gifter by what she chooses to send me.  For me, this partly about giving and receiving gifts but it's also an experience in getting to know people I don't normally see or interact with in my MuT posts and threads.


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## tulosai (May 23, 2014)

Oh I am wavering.  I really want to do this swap too but need to figure out if it's actually financially feasible or if I only wish it was.


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## LolaJay (May 23, 2014)

I'm so excited for this! I really REALLY loved Secret Santa this year, it was awesome! Summer is my time off so I am going to have plenty of time to stalk my lovely swap buddy, and I can't wait! I feel like I am a really great stalker - don't know if I should be proud of that but it's a talent haha.

I'm pretty sure I have enough info all over this site to be stalked efficiently as well :wub:


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## lacylei (May 23, 2014)

I filled out the questionnaire on the sign up page but is there any other one I should be filling out?


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## Momma4 (May 23, 2014)

I would so love to do this too, but, decisions, decisions  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Things are always crazy at my house with all of my little ones so I rarely have time to really sit and post.  But, I love being able to put together a special package for someone.  And, I also love getting things in the mail  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Doing these types of things make me feel like I am my own person seprate from my children. like I am a woman and not just a mother.  Although, being a mother is my favorite gig.  I just sometimes long for the day when I have more than 5 minutes to get ready and get to sleep for more than three hours a night, and I do not have 4 little sets of hand grabbing at my plate of food.  I will have to see if we can financially swing this, but it sounds super fun.


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 23, 2014)

lacylei said:


> I filled out the questionnaire on the sign up page but is there any other one I should be filling out?


Just this one!! Feel free to chat up or share any more info in this thread so your partner can creep on you and curate the perfect summer treat!


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## lacylei (May 23, 2014)

Oh well let's see I'm a single mom of a two year old, I'm the Director of a day care so she comes with me to work and runs the place. I like anything that requires me to "pamper" myself when in use. Lile face masks or bath goodies. Of course I love all make up stuff! We are going to Disney next week . It will be a first for both of us.


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## JenTX (May 25, 2014)

I want to sign up but have never done this before. Is there a dollar value we are supposed to be around for the swap?


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## nolongeravaliable15 (May 25, 2014)

Jennifer Leigh said:


> I want to sign up but have never done this before. Is there a dollar value we are supposed to be around for the swap?


Min/max is $25. But if you want to spoil your person, the rules make it so that any ipsy, birchbox, gwps, or anything bought with birch box points don't count. So really if you want to stick to $25 that's okay but if you don't, then it's okay too lol


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## Babs28 (May 25, 2014)

lacylei said:


> Oh well let's see I'm a single mom of a two year old, I'm the Director of a day care so she comes with me to work and runs the place. I like anything that requires me to "pamper" myself when in use. Lile face masks or bath goodies. Of course I love all make up stuff! We are going to Disney next week . It will be a first for both of us.


You can also create a Summerswap Wish list in the Buy Sell Trade thread with more specific information about what you like/don't like, your dream products, etc.


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## SaraP (May 25, 2014)

I love looking at everyone's Summer Swap lists...I get to see what you girls like and find new things I need to check out!


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## trekkersangel (May 25, 2014)

sarap said:


> I love looking at everyone's Summer Swap lists...I get to see what you girls like and find new things I need to check out!


I know! It's a great way to get to know people better! I'm such a stalker. I like to read people's profiles &amp; past posts! My stalker abilities will come in handy when we get our swap people. I'm excited!


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## CurlyTails (May 25, 2014)

I'm ready for some stalking and shopping! Plus, I pulled a few things out of my stash as possible extras, I have a good amount of Birchbox points built up, and I have some craft ideas in mind. This should be a fun activity this summer!


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## bonita22 (May 25, 2014)

I can't wait until we get assigned! I love reading everyone's SummerSwap list's, I have so many ideas.


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 25, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> I can't wait until we get assigned! I love reading everyone's SummerSwap list's, I have so many ideas.


yay!! yesss. I'm super excited too. I feel like I should work on a SummerSwap specific list!


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## nolongeravaliable15 (May 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> yay!! yesss. I'm super excited too. I feel like I should work on a SummerSwap specific list!


Yes! We should do that! I'm having a hard time making a list and was thinking of just copying the midsummer survey but it would be awesome if we made our own for summer swap!


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 25, 2014)

mayra3 said:


> Yes! We should do that! I'm having a hard time making a list and was thinking of just copying the midsummer survey but it would be awesome if we made our own for summer swap!


We will be sharing the info you provided in the Googledoc form with your swap buddy. If you wanted to make up your own survey or share any info your swapbuddy might find helpful, feel free to post it in here  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Also, if you're worried about dupes or anything if you're participating in both swaps, I recommend making a separate wishlist or something along those lines.


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## meaganola (May 25, 2014)

Yeesh.  I didn't realize I was tired, but I just read the word "spatula" in Jess's post.  I have no clue how I saw "separate wishlist" and read "spatula" -- and thought it was *a perfectly logical thing to say in this thread*.


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## bonita22 (May 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> yay!! yesss. I'm super excited too. I feel like I should work on a SummerSwap specific list!


I'm working on a SummerSwap specific list, luckily there's about a million things I like.

If I get a buddy that's participating in both exchanges, I'm going to keep a close eye on the reveals to avoid gifting dupes.


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## Babs28 (May 26, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> I'm working on a SummerSwap specific list, luckily there's about a million things I like.


That's my problem! I love a million things and want to try even more!!!  I'm trying to get my list together, I just keep changing my mind!!!


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## SaraP (May 26, 2014)

I'd have a list 3 miles long if I wrote up everything, so I just put my daily used products and things I haven't tried but would like to. I've also resisted purchasing the things I listed, some how after putting them in writing I want them even more :smilehappyyes: !


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## jocedun (May 28, 2014)

I am going to SPOIL one of you ladies. I am so excited..   :rotfl:


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## BSquared (May 28, 2014)

So I had a dream about the swap last night :lol:

It was so weird. In my dream, I got my box. I was super confused how I already got a box since we hadn't gotten assignments yet but I just kind of went with it. I was so excited! I opened it up and I got a used real techniques makeup sponge (like it was dirty and gross and not in a package), a bottle of Mario Badescu Green Apple toner (which isn't actually a real thing, so no idea), and a HUGE, and I mean like 5lb HUGE bag of pretzels. It was so weird!!!! Even though that's a pretty crappy present I was still very excited!!


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## trekkersangel (May 28, 2014)

I think I'd get excited for a rotten banana peel. I think we will all be going nuts over anything we receive! It's just so exciting.


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## tulosai (May 28, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I think I'd get excited for a rotten banana peel. I think we will all be going nuts over anything we receive! It's just so exciting.


EXACTLY!


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## sstich79 (May 28, 2014)

Okay, feeling a little stupid... I was trying to figure out how to stalk my person's posts, but when I click on someone's "posts" tab, it only shows the last five posts or so! Is there a way to find more than that?


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## tacehtpuekam (May 28, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Okay, feeling a little stupid... I was trying to figure out how to stalk my person's posts, but when I click on someone's "posts" tab, it only shows the last five posts or so! Is there a way to find more than that?


When you're on their profile there should be a 'view content' button (or something like that). Click that &amp; then make sure you have 'posts only' selected on the left side. That should show you the last 1000 posts  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
ETA: It's 'Find Content'


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## Babs28 (May 28, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Okay, feeling a little stupid... I was trying to figure out how to stalk my person's posts, but when I click on someone's "posts" tab, it only shows the last five posts or so! Is there a way to find more than that?


@@sstich79 - We haven't assigned Swap Buddies yet, how do you have a person to stalk?


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## SaraP (May 28, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @@sstich79 - We haven't assigned Swap Buddies yet, how do you have a person to stalk?


I'm stalking everyone...a little too excited over here :w00t:


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## sstich79 (May 28, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @@sstich79 - We haven't assigned Swap Buddies yet, how do you have a person to stalk?


Oh, I don't! I was just trying to figure out the stalking process since this is my first time doing a Secret Santa sort of thing.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## valeried44 (May 28, 2014)

I'm getting excited too!  Looking at everyone's lists and trying to put my own together.  Trying to keep mine fairly simple and semi-short, yet still get a good amount of info in there.  I hope nobody takes offense if I copy some of the elements of their lists - imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (May 28, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Oh, I don't! I was just trying to figure out the stalking process since this is my first time doing a Secret Santa sort of thing.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


OK, I understand now!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Practice makes perfect!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />



sarap said:


> I'm stalking everyone...a little too excited over here :w00t:


Me too!  I'm going thru the spreadsheet and I keep getting side tracked looking at everyone's list!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (May 28, 2014)

I was looking at my profile last night and decided to how far back 1000 posts went for me. Answer: February. Of this year. So... I hope I've posted enough for anyone who might want to stalk me!


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## SaraP (May 29, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Oh, I don't! I was just trying to figure out the stalking process since this is my first time doing a Secret Santa sort of thing.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> We need Stalking School!! :bandit: Or at least a Stalking Tips thread :couch:   ....


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 29, 2014)

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

i know i keep posting that but i really, really am! i just bought a ton of papercrafts stuff to make sure everything is neatly decorated. i'm also doing some serious window shopping online at ulta (i honestly don't really shop there so i've missed out on a lifetime of prime drugstore and other fun goodies) and all of a sudden I feel this compulsion to get 100000 NYX lipsticks but I have to remember to save some fun for my swap buddy. plus, i'm supposedly on a low buy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## trekkersangel (May 29, 2014)

I'm getting excited to find out who my swap buddy is!!! Sign ups close Monday right? So we should have our assignments next weekish? Wahoo! This will be such a blast!!!!!


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## tweakabell (May 29, 2014)

I can't wait to watch the reveals. I'm a little sad I couldn't join this one.


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## Babs28 (May 29, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I'm getting excited to find out who my swap buddy is!!! Sign ups close Monday right? So we should have our assignments next weekish? Wahoo! This will be such a blast!!!!!


Yes, signups close Monday and I will be working on assignments next week.  Everyone should have theirs by Friday at the latest!



Tweakabell said:


> I can't wait to watch the reveals. I'm a little sad I couldn't join this one.


Me too!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jennm149 (May 29, 2014)

@@tweakabell -- you'll be having so much fun with hubs and Z that you won't know what you're missing!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

We'll miss you, though.


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## meaganola (May 29, 2014)

@@tweakabell Don't think of it as missing out on this one! I saw @'s gift. You must be exhausted from putting together the awesome. Think of it as resting up for Secret Santa. It's only four months until signups for that!


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## tweakabell (May 29, 2014)

True.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I'd feel bad that it wouldn't have my full attention anyway and SS will be here soon


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## tweakabell (May 29, 2014)

It really was exhausting when you consider the time frame. Not complaining, it was fun I just don't have another one in me right now and they get expensive fast even if only from shipping and materials for projects.


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## rachelshine (May 30, 2014)

Oh.my.god. I am so glad I caught someone's post in the Birchbox Spoilers thread about this!!! YAYYYY a swap I can participate in. Can't wait to spoil/stalk someone!


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 30, 2014)

Anyone have other hobbies (outside of make up and MUT of course!) that they wanna share with the group? I'm trying to find more things to do this summer!


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## SaraP (May 30, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Anyone have other hobbies (outside of make up and MUT of course!) that they wanna share with the group? I'm trying to find more things to do this summer!


There's a thread for this, let me see if I can find it...

@ here it is

https://www.makeuptalk.com/f/topic/132466-may-26-2014-outside-of-makeup-what-are-your-hobbies/


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## Babs28 (May 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> There's a thread for this, let me see if I can find it...
> 
> @ here it is
> 
> https://www.makeuptalk.com/f/topic/132466-may-26-2014-outside-of-makeup-what-are-your-hobbies/


@@SaraP - this thread is so people can get to know each other and find out what interests people to make it easier (hopefully) for Swap Buddies to put together awesome packages for each other.  I don't think discussing hobbies within this thread is off topic at all.  i, for one, would love to know some information about my Swap Buddy without having to stalk them for every piece of information!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   Thanks for trying to keep the thread focused on just talking about the swap but I think any discussion that encourages getting to know each other is a good discussion!!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (May 30, 2014)

Since they're the ones running this exchange, I was working under the assumption that any sort of question like that from @ or @@Babs28 is specifically intended to provide stalking material for gifters.

Unfortunately for me, I have no life. My big hobby outside of makeup is fandom. I'm currently saving up for Rose City Comic Con in September! I have a list somewhere of comics to buy directly from their creators.


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 30, 2014)

Thanks @@meaganola and @@Babs28  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

There's an alt press/comics/zines con in Chicago this weekend. I really want to go because I think it's fun buying those things from the creators too! Since zinefests are pretty small, i really like chatting up the lonely looking tables. Sometimes they're lonely because they're weirdos and sometimes they're a hidden gem!


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## jesemiaud (May 30, 2014)

I just realized that this is a swap that I can join! So excited! I'll do all the official sign-up stuff tonight when I get home. Can't access the google doc on my phone and I suppose I should actually get some work done today.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jennm149 (May 30, 2014)

meaganola said:


> *Since they're the ones running this exchange, I was working under the assumption that any sort of question like that from @ or @@Babs28 is specifically intended to provide stalking material for gifters.*
> 
> Unfortunately for me, I have no life. My big hobby outside of makeup is fandom. I'm currently saving up for Rose City Comic Con in September! I have a list somewhere of comics to buy directly from their creators.


Oh -- I get it now.  It would never have occurred to me that our clever Swaprunners were being so sneaky!

Curating my nail polish collection takes a surprising amount of time.  I pretty much have to devote one weekend day's worth of free time a month to swatching.  I am somewhat compulsive about it (I use a label maker for my swatch sticks!) and between making labels, painting the swatch sticks and entering all the info into the database that I've started -- when you typically are getting 35 or 40 polishes a month in subs -- it takes a good part of an afternoon.  And I've been toying with the idea of a second set of swatches, by collection on wheels, so that will add even more time!

I also read and do a few different needlecrafts (knitting and crocheting, mostly, with some counted-cross stitch and needlepoint occassionally).  I also like photography, although I've had less time for that lately.


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 30, 2014)

@@jennm149 what i wrote was the only way i could think of phrasing something beyond "please tell me what else you do so if i go to michaels or make an etsy order, i can get something for you"  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

my mom used to do nails and nail wheels and swatch sticks TERRIFIED me as a child. Definitely not as bad as fake hands with nails on them (her salon did not have those). but, i do remember her coming back from beauty shows with boxes and boxes of freebie or super discounted polishes and she would swatch for DAYS.


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 30, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> I just realized that this is a swap that I can join! So excited! I'll do all the official sign-up stuff tonight when I get home. Can't access the google doc on my phone and I suppose I should actually get some work done today.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


yay! welcome  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (May 30, 2014)

As far as etsy goes, you can go on there and make a wishlist to be shared! That is a *very* dangerous rabbithole I need to head down this weekend. So many fandom goodies!


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## BSquared (May 30, 2014)

I need a hobby! I've been thinking that lately, I feel like a very boring person. Isn't there some e-card that says something about "You never feel lame until someone asks you what you like to do for fun".

I mean I like to do the typical stuff like shopping, reading, etc....but I feel like I need an actual hobby! I hate doing crafty things (like literally, I did some DIY stuff for our wedding 2 years ago and going to the craft store was my personal version of hell) so I have no idea what to try and start up.


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## valeried44 (May 30, 2014)

In the summer we love to go camping.  I like to go to flea markets too.  You can find just about ANYTHING there.  I'm in a very rural area, so there are plenty of them around and lots of antique-y things.  I live in an old farmhouse in the country, so it's fun to find things for home, yard and garden decorations. I like to sew, but that I mostly reserve for winter when it's too cold to do anything else.


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## meaganola (May 30, 2014)

The thing is that "hobby" doesn't necessarily mean crafts! You could spend your spare time researching a particular field, traveling, raising honey bees, or writing short stories. Those are still hobbies.


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## Dashery (May 30, 2014)

Hobbies? Well, my life right now revolves around cosplay. I feel like I haven't even been on MUT in forever!

If your curious, you can see what I'm working on below.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />



Spoiler



I did this all by hand. I still have some work to do, but it wearable now! I love it so much! Eee!


I love sewing and costuming, so any time I go thrifting or something, I'm constantly picking up odds and ends of sewing supplies. Also, the week before a convention (that would be this week. Oh man.) My house turns into a sweat shop. It's crazy. . My collection has gotten to the point that I usually have any random notion or sewing piece my cosplay partners need . It's great! (Though, in two days we went through all of my glue....  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> )


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## nolongeravaliable15 (May 30, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Hobbies? Well, my life right now revolves around cosplay. I feel like I haven't even been on MUT in forever!
> 
> If your curious, you can see what I'm working on below.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> ...


Wow that looks stunning!


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## LolaJay (May 30, 2014)

My hobbies include the norm - shopping, nail art, reading, crafting, home decor, cooking...I dabble in a lot of things lol

Some of my more abnormal hobbies -


Shopkick (anyone else an avid Shopkicker? I shop a lot so it just makes sense for me to do it - I'm at over 50,000 kicks and I just don't want to redeem them! I've redeemed about 30,000 so far, the biggest one was for a $100 Macy's gift card that I used to help buy my beloved Michael Kors purse!)
The U.S. Presidents - this is just one of those weird things that I can completely fascinated by...I love learning about each president and what they were like and have done to shape our country. I guess I am a bit of a History buff (it was my major in college) so it makes some sense?! It's a weird hobby and I get sort of embarrassed about it when people (especially my husband) tell others about it. :blush: But I have also started collecting the Presidential dollar coins...ok now I am really embarassed...!
Art - it isn't really abnormal but I love drawing, painting, etc.


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## SaraP (May 30, 2014)

@@Babs28 I wasn't trying to keep the thread on topic (I'm horrible at that) I'm just a dork and thought she was really asking and not the sneaky genius that she really is! Although I did think "wow this gals amazing, just graduated, flying all around for job interviews, and still has time for new hobbies!"  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 30, 2014)

@LolaJay  :king:  thats a lot of kicks!!!! i tried to do it (since yup, in stores often too..) but my phone gets slow/bogged up in some stores and then i just lose interest. wow!!! maybe i'll try it again this summer!


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> @@Babs28 I wasn't trying to keep the thread on topic (I'm horrible at that) I'm just a dork and thought she was really asking and not the sneaky genius that she really is! Although I did think "wow this gals amazing, just graduated, flying all around for job interviews, and still has time for new hobbies!"  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


 /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> thanks! no worries. I've definitely spent my senior year and my grad school time (1.5 years) being a HUGE nerd. like i barely went out, barely saw my friends, pretty much stopped drinking. but, now that my undergrad friends all moved away and now that i've got my coursework mostly completed i'm kinda just bopping around, throwing money at whatever looks fun/could turn into a hobby -- and then it just ends up cluttering my apartment  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

Zines/Writing/Reading were the only things that were consistent! and its a cheap hobby too. I've recently gotten into creeping on #snailmailrevolution on instagram... some people go NUTS with their mail art. I want to get into that / am starting to get into that but between postage, the cost of tape and paper, and the time it takes to make everything pretty - it seems exhausting! Hopefully its something I can keep up with though!


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## Dashery (May 30, 2014)

Thanks! @

And @@LolaJay Don't get embarrassed! The president's _are_ pretty awesome. B)  Do you have a favorite? (It may be cliche, but Lincoln's my fave. Although, I do have a very soft spot in my heart for Teddy Roosevelt.)


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## LolaJay (May 30, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @LolaJay  :king:  thats a lot of kicks!!!! i tried to do it (since yup, in stores often too..) but my phone gets slow/bogged up in some stores and then i just lose interest. wow!!! maybe i'll try it again this summer!


They are about a year's worth of kicks - I guess I hoard more than just beauty products lol. I have an iPhone and I don't have too many problems with it, but there are definitely times I get frustrated and am like FORGET IT. My husband has a Droid and he can't get it to work most of the time either. I think it might just work better on iPhones unfortunately. But it is a lot of kicks, and I haven't really gone out of my way or anything to get them - the only times I go a little crazy is when they have special days (about 4-5 times per year) when there are tons of 100 or 200 walk-ins. This Saturday is one of those days!


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## LolaJay (May 30, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Thanks! @
> 
> And @@LolaJay Don't get embarrassed! The president's _are_ pretty awesome. B)  Do you have a favorite? (It may be cliche, but Lincoln's my fave. Although, I do have a very soft spot in my heart for Teddy Roosevelt.)


It's so hard to pick!!! It changes sometimes, but I'm pretty sure that FDR is my favorite - at least he always ends up in my top 5. I'm also a fan of Teddy R because he did a lot of controversial but progressive things. I'm definitely still learning a lot. I like to read about the least popular presidents - Harding, Buchanan, Pierce - lol.


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## BSquared (May 30, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Hobbies? Well, my life right now revolves around cosplay. I feel like I haven't even been on MUT in forever!
> 
> If your curious, you can see what I'm working on below.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> ...


That is so pretty!

And yeah, I want traveling as a hobby, I've been trying to do more but it's so expensive and my current shopping hobby needs to be curbed first :blush:   Maybe I can try and learn about something interesting!!!

Edit: This gives me an excellent idea! I love wine! Maybe I can make wine my hobby and learn more about it!


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## meaganola (May 30, 2014)

bsquared said:


> That is so pretty!
> 
> And yeah, I want traveling as a hobby, I've been trying to do more but it's so expensive and my current shopping hobby needs to be curbed first :blush: Maybe I can try and learn about something interesting!!!
> 
> Edit: This gives me an excellent idea! I love wine! Maybe I can make wine my hobby and learn more about it!


I have a friend who liked to drink in college just because that's what you did where she grew up: You drank. A lot. She started her doctoral program for philosophy and would get so stressed that she would just go hang out at her local wine-and-poetry bar just to calm down. Now she's apparently a professional wine blogger and travels all over the place visiting wineries!


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## elizabethrose (May 30, 2014)

bsquared said:


> That is so pretty!
> 
> And yeah, I want traveling as a hobby, I've been trying to do more but it's so expensive and my current shopping hobby needs to be curbed first :blush:   Maybe I can try and learn about something interesting!!!
> 
> Edit: This gives me an excellent idea! I love wine! Maybe I can make wine my hobby and learn more about it!


I've been actively stalking this thread- do it!! As a beer person- I love people who know a lot about wine/people who are working on their Sommelier's Licenses.  I don't know anything about wine- but I love it!


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## rachelshine (May 30, 2014)

@, sneaky girl you!! 

@@Dashery, *bowing* that is incredible!! I wish I had your skills and patience!

I have personally fallen down the rat hole that is indie makeup and can't/don't want to get back out! I have taken to creating wish lists from Shiro, Hello Waffles, Victorian Disco, and My Pretty Zombie to name a few. Not only are the owners ridiculously nice, but they have collections from all sorts of fandoms, hysterical product names, and superb offerings! I also have decided to undertake _pressing_ some of these loose shadows I've acquired. I believe that will either be a complete success or fail. I haven't gotten a Z Palette yet, but it's on my list of things to get. Ohh, another beautiful indie find that's been fun to explore is the world of indie perfumes!! Haus of Gloi and Solstice Scents come to mind for great samplers as well as a few fun shops on Etsy. I like notes of vanilla, tobacco, and amber, but nothing overly floral or fruity. It's been great fun ordering minis and finding my way. I smell yummy and can't get enough. 

Non-beauty related, I am super into cooking (looking to get more into vegetarian cuisine AND baking) and love wine. Both these passions come from my dad and not only are they delicious, but a fun way for us to bond  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I love cookbooks, international dishes, local cuisines, red wine, and cheese. If I had all the money in the world, I'd probably sign up for that Taste Trunk. That way I could be surrounded by fun things to try all the time. 

Now, I am off to stalk other people's list so I can create my own!


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## Dashery (May 30, 2014)

@@BSquared @@rachelshine

Thank you both! You're making me blush!  :blush:   :lol:


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## jennm149 (May 30, 2014)

@@Dashery -- Wow, that is just amazing and so beautiful!  I can't imagine having the patience for a project 1/10th the size.

@@rachelshine -- I think I may have just added a new sub to my rotation.  There were a couple of nail subs on the cusp of being cancelled and depending on how much I like the one TT I ordered, they may go to make room for this one in my "budget."


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## Lolo22 (May 30, 2014)

@@Dashery - that's amazing!! 

Add me to the list who wishes they could be a professional wino!  I spend a lot of time couponing, cooking, baking (on the bucket list is to open a bakery someday when I'm old), and pinteresting.  I consider pinteresting different from crafting though, but I suppose I could call myself a crafter of sorts.  The main thing is the house stuff though.  We've had our house for 2 years now but I am always in the middle of some project and our house is pretty new. Tomorrow we are putting in a new toilet lol.  I really enjoy that kind of stuff though.  I guess I do a fair amount of gardening too.  If you have never tried a home grown carrot or cucumber you are missing out!  I can't wait for picklefest 2014 once they start growing 

Since we're sharing, here is a $3 lamp from Goodwill I mosiac'd and a light that I covered in fabric and installed myself(!):



Spoiler


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## Christa W (May 30, 2014)

I really do need to get my list together tonight after I finish a few other important things.  I love reading about all the hobbies and seeing how many of us share common interests outside of nails and makeup. 

My main hobby is my polish and that includes the researching, shopping, cataloging, swatching, blogging, vlogging, IG'ing and overall obessing and playing with them.  When I am not in my "polish cave" as my boyfriend so affectionately refers to it I enjoy garage sales, flea markets and thrift stores.  At least one day every weekend is devoted to that.  One of my favorite activities is buying $2.17 tee shirts from Goodwill.  I have some really cool ones I have gotten there.  I also collect Wilton Cake Pans (some day I will have you elusive Boba Fett) and other baking and candy making supplies.  I have been decorating cakes as a hobby for over 20 years and have recently started making more dessert things like chocolate key lime cheesecake.  I collect books and especially cookbooks and cake books.  We have a library in my house so that's another thing we love to do is read.  Half of it is comic books and graphic novels.   One of my other big hobbies is video games.  I play both PC and console.  I haven't played much on account of my RA but now that I am getting that under control I will be playing more.  I also enjoy photography (recent hobby) and Warhammer 40K miniatures game.  I don't play much anymore but still enjoy painting models and spending time at the hobby shop where my boyfriend plays in a league.

Last but not least my other hobby is not very traditional but is very rewarding and that is caring for my 9 cats and other misc animals we have.  I have started to rescue animals and find them homes although the last kitten found his way in my heart and I want to keep him.  Just cleaning up after all these guys is a full time job!!!  But I couldn't imagine a single moment without any of them.


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## trekkersangel (May 30, 2014)

Hobbies. . . . It's kind of hard to have hobbies when you have 6 kids.  ha ha ha.  I do love to cook/bake &amp; I decorate cakes which is a great hobby for me.  It seems like I always have a cake to make whether it be for a birthday, holiday, friend, anything really.  Funny thing though. . . I don't like cake that much.  But I love to decorate them.

I also have a weird "old person" hobby. . . I love genealogy.  My husband &amp; I will stay up all night long tracing back our family lines as far back as we can.  We love looking up old newspapers, journals, publications, etc. that have stories about our ancestors.  We've found some really interesting &amp; amazing stories (like one of my husband's ancestors was the religious official on the Mayflower. . William Brewster) &amp; some wack-a-doo stories as well like a guy who decided he was God &amp; walked off a cliff to prove to his followers that he would walk to heaven.  Umm. . . that didn't work out how he had planned for it to.  ha ha ha.  It's hilarious to learn about your history, where you came from, who your family is.

And collecting Disney of course.  I was an intern for the Disney Imagineers back before I got married.  I loved Disney.  They offered me a job as parade Belle (but regretfully I didn't take it).  I love Disney anything.  My kitchen &amp; bathroom are Mickey Mouse.  Something about Disney just makes me smile.


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## Kelly Silva (May 30, 2014)

@@trekkersangel Oh I got really into genealogy for about a month when Ancestry.com was doing a free trial month. I didn't get too far back because my mom was adopted and we still have no idea who her biological parents were. But I did find my great grandparents who came from Portugal which is the main heritage I have that I know of. And I did find a lot of ex-spouses...lots of multiple marriages going on, more than I knew of!

I love beer and wine! Some of my favorites:

Beer (mostly California beers because we have so many good ones!) - Lagunitas, Stone, Anderson Valley, Black Diamond, Ballast Point, Dust Bowl, and 21st Amendment.

Wine - V. Sattui, and South Coast. If you want some amazing award-winning wine order a case from South Coast in Temecula. You can order online for fairly inexpensively they have lots of deals and basically just close your eyes and point to a wine and it will be amazing. A lot of their wines are sweeter so if that's your thing they have you covered! But I'm not big on too many reds and I love all of their reds even the super dry ones.


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## BSquared (May 30, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> @@trekkersangel Oh I got really into genealogy for about a month when Ancestry.com was doing a free trial month. I didn't get too far back because my mom was adopted and we still have no idea who her biological parents were. But I did find my great grandparents who came from Portugal which is the main heritage I have that I know of. And I did find a lot of ex-spouses...lots of multiple marriages going on, more than I knew of!
> 
> I love beer and wine! Some of my favorites:
> 
> ...


OOooo thanks I love sweet wine!!!

Why did it never occur to me to order wine online?? The liquor store by my house is so shady. I refuse to go there without my husband and usually I'm too lazy to drive any farther (which is like....a mile and a  half to the next one lol). Wine delivery sounds amazing!


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## SaraP (May 30, 2014)

I can second the Temecula wines being good! I live an hour north and didn't even know they made wine there. Hubbs took me to do a hot air balloon ride in T and it was too windy, so we spent the day drinking wine! We went back for our anniversary and stayed in the vineyards at South Coast Winery (they have a hotel and spa). Super awesome! Joined the wine club for a little while too.


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## Kelly Silva (May 30, 2014)

bsquared said:


> OOooo thanks I love sweet wine!!!
> 
> Why did it never occur to me to order wine online?? The liquor store by my house is so shady. I refuse to go there without my husband and usually I'm too lazy to drive any farther (which is like....a mile and a  half to the next one lol). Wine delivery sounds amazing!


Haha yeah I ordered a case about a year ago when they had a special free shipping if you bought a case. I just recently finished it, so 12 bottles in a year? Not bad! I think the only thing about ordering wine online is there are a few states they can't ship to because of laws and what not, but check it out! Their prices aren't bad either!


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## CurlyTails (May 30, 2014)

Looks like there are a lot of talented ladies on this forum! I love photography and scrapbooking when I get around to it. I also always have some project or another going on around the house. I subscribe to HGTV Magazine and drool over all the pretty ideas each month. I have a terrible problem of not finishing things, though!

When it's not too hot, I like to spend time gardening. I have a flower bed that is starting to fill in nicely and some bulbs that have started to bloom again for the summer. I'd like to sart a small herb garden one of these days.


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## tulosai (May 30, 2014)

Oooh hobbies!

Most of mine are pretty traditional.  I love reading.  I also geek out over certain fandoms and have been known to write some fanfiction. I dabble in knitting and cross-stitching.  I sometimes try to scrapbook but it's always epic fail. I also LOOOOOOOVE baking and cooking.

A less traditional hobby is that I am very into 'bartending' and cocktails and wine.  I drink very rarely but if you want to know how to mix something or some unusual drinks, or about wines and grapes I am your girl.

In terms of makeup, my main hobbies/obsessions are NAIL POLISH and INDIE ANYTHING.

Something @@trekkersangel said made me think of another question: do you all collect anything?? I think this would also be really useful to know for stalking purposes.

I collect bookmarks, postcards, magnets, and lunchboxes!


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## meaganola (May 30, 2014)

Ooh, collections!  Someone sent me a robot magnet around Christmastime for some random reason, and that now makes me want a ROBOT MAGNET ARMY for my fridge!  (So far, I just have the one robot magnet.  HE IS AN ARMY OF ONE.)

I also have a weird fixation on decks of cards with interesting faces (as opposed to the backs).  I've actually backed a couple of Kickstarters (A-Maze-Ing and Different decks) just because the artwork was intriguing, not because I have any need for six decks of cards.


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## DonnaD (May 30, 2014)

I collect pie birds and decorative salts/salt boxes.  The table salt kind not bath salts.  And clocks.  Also ancient kitchen tools/gadgets.  And Hello Kitty stuff.  And nail polish.  That's enough stuff to collect considering I'm one of those people who will never be a hoarder. If I haven't used it in a year, it gets thrown away.

I crochet constantly except when I'm reading or playing the Sims.  I bake a lot and I'm pretty good at it.  I garden a whole lot and I love propagating African violets and other houseplants.  I'm always looking for Iris rhizomes so hopefully my gifter will dig one up for me lol.

I'm pretty boring but I've already had all the fun I ever wanted to have and I'm tired now.  :laughing:


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## estefany (May 30, 2014)

Hobbies: I definitely watch a lot of TV. My favorite TV show right now is Game of Thrones. I also like to watch a lot of childish cartoons  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I like beer! Beer is pretty much the only unhealthy beverage I allow myself to drink  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> My favorite right now is Rouge's Hazelnut Brown Nectar. 

Collections: I suppose I collect my  school notes. Or maybe I should call it hoarding  :blink:


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## nolongeravaliable15 (May 30, 2014)

Hmm I don't have too many hobbies other than makeup but I do love reading books, cooking &amp; baking. I just wish I had more time to do all of those things


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 30, 2014)

Ohh... Collections... Photobooth strips, zines, Decemberists concert photos, and set lists


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## SaraP (May 31, 2014)

Wow everyone has so many neat interests, I had fun reading through it all! I don't have specific hobbies other then I make all kinds of cakes. Anything from wedding to birthday and mostly decorated in fondant.

Things that aren't really hobbies but I enjoy are the beach, camping, drive-in movies, party planning, and family. My husband (a librarian) would kill me if I didn't add reading, we are big on book in my house.


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## Jac13 (May 31, 2014)

@@SaraP that is so amazing that you are able to make wedding cakes. I have just gotten into doing some gourmet cooking. I would like to take some baking classes but I haven't found any that are just for fun. I love eating out and watching shows about food. I live to eat, lol. I also enjoy going to the movies. I am not a big tv watcher but I love the theatre, for movies and plays. I am a big fan of the arts. I hope to one day own a baby grand.

I love camping, biking, sailing and water sports. However I am not a big swimmer. I love festivals!!!! And horseback riding. I love reading the news from different sites on the web. Overall, I would consider myself a carefree but responsible loving person.


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## sstich79 (May 31, 2014)

What a talented and unique bunch of ladies on this site! As for me, I love to cook, and I wish I could find a sub box for interesting and unique spices and seasoning blends. I would be all over that! I love arts and crafts in pretty much all forms, from painting to figure drawing to hand-sewing quilts to making stained glass windows and making 3-D paper ornaments out of recycled Christmas cards. In terms of collections, I love seashells and sea life (Sanibel Island, Florida, is my favorite place on the planet), the "Old World" style of blown-glass Christmas ornaments, I love books and dream of having a library with a red rolling ladder one day... I'm actually currently in the process of refinishing an old library card catalog that I found on Craigslist and rescued from an abusive home. I can't wait to organize all my art supplies, and all my makeup too, in all those little drawers! I love kitschy / ridiculous refrigerator magnets; my favorite kinds are colorful 3-D animals that have bobbly legs/wings/lobster claws, the kind that are like little mini-aquariums with liquid and floaty bits inside, and horribly inappropriate ones... my most recent purchase is one of those vintagey E-card type of things with a 1950s woman and the caption "I lost my virginity, but I still have the box it came in." The goofiest thing I collect is probably squished pennies... you know, the kind you crank through the machine and it presses a picture onto it? I LOVE those, and have several collector books full. What can I say? I'm a goofball.

ETA: Forgot one of my favorite pastimes, which is taking photos of my stuffed monkey, Munky Wunkle, in all kinds of places. He is kind of my version of the Travelocity "Roaming Gnome," he travels with me and occasionally with my friends, and he is so cool that he earned a title mention and a starring role in my blog. My parents treat him like their grandmonkey, and take him to Florida when they spend the winter down there... one year they decided to buy him all kinds of clothes and little props, and brought him back with his own mini suitcase full of lots of randomness, Build a Bear clothes and the like. (I would share a picture, but I don't use Instagram or any of those hosting sites, and I don't think I can link to my FB album or a blog photo.) He sightsees, he goes golfing, and occasionally he gets too drunk and passes out, but hey, what's a monkey to do?


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 31, 2014)

@sstitch79 I would LOVE a card catalog and a red rolling ladder in my dream home. I think library card catalogs drawers are the cutest things!

@@SaraP making cakes sounds AWESOME! My mom would make wedding cakes too and I thought all the piping and lacing she did (so 90s) was beautiful! And I'm jealous that you're in an area with a drive in theater. When I lived in Sacramento there was a good one but was always in danger of being shut down.


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## trekkersangel (May 31, 2014)

Duh! I thought of my main hobby &amp; can't believe I didn't mention it before! Music!!! It's rare that you find a job that you love so much that it isn't "work." I love music! I love instruments! I love teaching! I've played piano since I was 4 years old &amp; have been a piano teacher for 12 years. I play over 26 musical instruments, teach piano, strings, oboe, &amp; percussion privately &amp; taught music at the elementary school at our last base (military).

I have 6 kids &amp; so far 4 of them play piano, 1 plays guitar, &amp; one plays oboe. I love that they love it too.

Music makes me happy. . . Now when you combine music with disney I get REALLY happy.


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## CurlyTails (May 31, 2014)

@@sstich79 I also collect pressed pennies and dream of having a rolling library ladder in my house!


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## Kelli (May 31, 2014)

I spend so much time on MuT and am just seeing this! I had wanted to do the Secret Santa and couldn't afford to at that time of year, then saw the Midsummer one and was going to participate, then saw it was only for SS participants. Sooo....I am going to go take a good look at my current finances and try to make a quick judgement if I can participate this time around.

It seems like SO MUCH FUN! I love getting surprises in the mail and I love buying makeup and getting to know new people, so win/win!


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## CurlyTails (May 31, 2014)

Totally random, but there is a female peacock wandering in front of my house. The cat is going nuts.


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## valeried44 (May 31, 2014)

I love peacocks!  The day before our wedding we had a male and female peacock roam into our yard.  (We live in the country, but didn't know of anyone who raised them near us and had never seen them before and didn't see them after that day)  Of course, we took it as a sign/blessing.  So, my mom gave us each a peacock feather to wear on our wedding day. I always think of that whenever I see a peacock.


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## Lolo22 (May 31, 2014)

curlytails said:


> Totally random, but there is a female peacock wandering in front of my house. The cat is going nuts.


That is awesome!!!  Peacocks are definitely in my top 10 favorite animals, they are just so unique and beautiful!!


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## Kelli (May 31, 2014)

I am totally scared of birds, in general, but love how pretty peacocks are! I buy so much stuff with peacocks on them lol.


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## tweakabell (May 31, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @sstitch79 I would LOVE a card catalog and a red rolling ladder in my dream home. I think library card catalogs drawers are the cutest things!
> 
> @@SaraP making cakes sounds AWESOME! My mom would make wedding cakes too and I thought all the piping and lacing she did (so 90s) was beautiful! And I'm jealous that you're in an area with a drive in theater. When I lived in Sacramento there was a good one but was always in danger of being shut down.


It's still open, I still love it lol. The best way to go see 2 new movies!


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## tweakabell (May 31, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I am totally scared of birds, in general, but love how pretty peacocks are! I buy so much stuff with peacocks on them lol.


Have you seen the pictures of the albino peacock? It's gorgeous!


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## kawaiiwoofs (May 31, 2014)

Tweakabell said:


> It's still open, I still love it lol. The best way to go see 2 new movies!


hahahha. i think i went to a "save the drive in!" fundraiser every summer in high school.


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## tweakabell (May 31, 2014)

Oh yea they were always insisting that it was going to close.


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## Kelli (May 31, 2014)

Tweakabell said:


> Have you seen the pictures of the albino peacock? It's gorgeous!


Yes! They are so beautiful! I used to have a picture of one as the background on my cell  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (May 31, 2014)

@@trekkersangel  Is there anything you DON'T do or aren't good at?    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   26 musical instruments?  Yes, I would say that qualifies as a hobby!  LOL  A BIG one!  That is so awesome!  I played the piano in school and the flute but I can't read sheet music - like no mater how hard I studied it, it didn't make sense.  So I couldn't continue in the classes.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  

Everyone here is so interesting and diverse with their interests and SO TALENTED!! @@SaraP - I will be expecting a cake if you my Swap Buddy!   ^_^ /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I'm KIDDING!!  You can just send the fondant.  I LOVE fondant!  People think I'm nuts but I think it's YUMMY!!  For my engagement party (which seems like a lifetime ago), my sister in law had the cake made for us by this amazing cake lady and the cake was decorated like our china - with small flowers and little butterflies and ladybugs.  The china sounds childish looking but it was really elegant (I got to keep it in the divorce). Anyway, the cake had TONS of fondant butterflies and ladybugs and flowers and anytime I walked past the back of the cake, I was constantly stealing a flower or ladybug off the cake!  No one could tell because there were so many.  The cake was beautiful and of course the fondant was delicious!!  MMMMM!!!

Let's see. My hobbies, I love to read.  Once I start a book that I like, it's nearly impossible for me to put it down.  If I had more time I would read a book a day if I could.  I love the usual, make up, shopping, going out to dinner with friends.  With shopping, I try to challenge myself with getting the best deals possible.  Like getting a $400 dress for less than $50. I just bought a Cole Haan rain coat that was $450 in the store and bought it for $75 some place else. It wasn't a "second" either!  I love to collect purses and bags (higher end ones - again, trying to get the best deal - and unusual ones). I used to be a runner until about 2 years ago when I fractured my tibia plateau for the 3rd time in 3 years (a result of a horrible pregnancy where me and my son nearly died). One of my bucket list entries is to run the Marine Corps Marathon but that's not looking too good!  Another hobby is going to estate sales.  I love that you never know what kind of sale it is going to be. Will it be a house that is cleaned up and only has the "nice" stuff left or will it be a house that just had the people removed and everything else is left the way the people left it, like they just walked out?  They are all fun and sometimes they can be creepy but interesting. I love going to the beach and snorkeling. I love sea "wildlife". I also love to travel to little unknown, off the beaten path towns and explore.  I love going to Butterfly pavilions and sanctuaries where you can see the butterflies up close and sometimes feed them. I love to watch them, it's like meditation to me.  I LOVE butterflies.  I have since I was about 6 years old. I like going to tattoo conventions and any other interesting convention that catches my eye.  I live about an hour from NYC and an hour and a half from Philly so it's easy to get to either place. 

Things I collect besides makeup. I collect old apothecary jars, it's even better and more fun if they have their original labels on them - I love to research the "medicine", the company, etc! Anything made of milk glass. Old mason jars, especially the ones stamped "Patent Nov 30th 1858" , or are blue glass, milk glass, cobalt blue, amber or black glass. The ones with the lightning type closure are awesome as are the gravitating stopper and the liquor flask closures (double screw cap - because one cap is a shot glass)!!! I recently started collecting marbles too!  I bought an old mason jar at an estate sale and it had marbles in it.  I started looking at the marbles and they were old ones and really interesting so now I collect them as well.  I collect lots of butterfly stuff too - but things that are tasteful, not gaudy and when you walk into my house you don't see butterflies all over the place.  They are there but you have to look for them!  lol  I don't collect "pinned" matted butterfly displays, unless the company making them specifically guarantees that the butterfly perished after it's normal life cycle and was not killed in order to be pinned to the display.)another thing on my bucket list is to see the Monarch migration in Mexico.)  I also collected magnets. Any kind of silly/fun magnets. I had the "word" magnets where you can make up sentences or poems, etc. but they got lost while I was moving. I had 3 different sets. I also had the human skeleton which had about 40 pieces to it. You could move the pieces and make your own version of a body but that got lost in the move too.  My whole box of magnets (yes I needed a whole box) was lost.  :sdrop:   :angry:    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I was soo sad.  I had been collecting them for years!

I didn't realize I collected so much stuff.  I've been DYING to get my hands on a card catalogue drawer set for years now!  They are either too expensive (some people want over $1000 for one) or they just aren't available.  But I WILL have one one day and soon I hope!!! Very soon!!!


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## DonnaD (May 31, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Old mason jars, especially the ones stamped "Patent Nov 30th 1858" , or are blue glass, milk glass, cobalt blue, amber or black glass. The ones with the lightning type closure are awesome as are the gravitating stopper and the liquor flask closures (double screw cap - because one cap is a shot glass)!!!


I used to collect old mason jars and I have about 22 of them on display on a shelf that goes around the whole of my kitchen.   My oldest has a bunch of them that she got on a "shopping" expedition of my kitchen.  She loves them as much as I do.  I stopped collecting them though.  It got too expensive. 

I did forget one thing I collect...miniature hurricane lamps.  Not nearly as expensive...although some are...I just buy the ones that appeal to me without concern for their age.


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## meaganola (May 31, 2014)

I only have one thing to say to the talk of card catalogs:

http://www.unshelved.com/store/Bags/ShoppingBag

(My brother doesn't know it yet, but he's getting one of those in green for Christmas since Unshelved had a booth at Emerald City Comic Con, and I had money to spend there.  He's the circulation supervisor at a library and slooooowly working his way towards his MLS.  *Very* slowly.  It's been in process for over twenty years.  He's worked there since he was sixteen.  He is now thirty-nine, although he looks so young that he frequently gets snotty patrons who don't like whatever he tells him -- in part because he's a *guybrarian* and in part because he's just now finally starting to not get carded everywhere -- and demand to see the supervisor.  They don't like it when he taps his name tag and asks how he can help them.  They *really* don't like it when they go over to the older woman working there demanding to see the supervisor because he has told them something they want someone to override and she directs them to him. He is usually the most senior person there in terms of length of service, and frequently the most senior in terms of power, and promotions notwithstanding, it's the *only* job he's ever had.  There is basically zero chance of him ever leaving voluntarily.)

(He's also on the board of this organization:  http://uprisebooks.org  

If you go to the supporters page and see "Ryan's Favorite Aunt" listed there, that would be our aunt Mary.  At least that is my conclusion because that's exactly the sort of thing she would do:  Donate to her nephew's project and declare herself to be his favorite because *she* donated to it when neither of her sisters did.  Our mom called herself our Favorite Mother, and her nickname for me was Favorite Daughter.  I have the latter in a kanji tattoo around my left wrist.  If I recall my tattoo sequence correctly, I got it on what would have been her fifty-second birthday.)

(And if you want seventeen-year-old anime fanboys to chat you up, get a visible kanji tattoo.  They *always* want to read my wrist.)


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## BSquared (May 31, 2014)

Holy cow 26 instruments!? I am seriously impressed. I played the flute in middle school and was actually quite good. Our band teacher pushed my mom hard to sign me up for college level lessons, it was 7th grade and kids started to tease me about it, I decided being "cool" was more important and ditched it. Le sigh. One of my biggest regrets.

I don't really COLLECT anything per say, but I do buy a keychain at every airport I visit. It's a superstitious thing. And I collect makeup obviously  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Also jealous of the cake decorators. I like to bake (there, I kinda have a hobby!) but cakes are the one thing I struggle with. I can make a killer bundt cake but sheet cake or more traditional cake? Just never turns out as well as I want it to. And decorating is a disaster since I have zero art skills.


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## Babs28 (May 31, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I only have one thing to say to the talk of card catalogs:
> 
> http://www.unshelved.com/store/Bags/ShoppingBag


I want!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  That is awesome!!!  

That's such a cute story about your family!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   Now off to look up kanji!


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## SaraP (May 31, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I only have one thing to say to the talk of card catalogs:
> 
> http://www.unshelved.com/store/Bags/ShoppingBag
> 
> ...


Oh my gosh "Guybrarian" has me cracking up! I'll have to tell my "Guybrarian" hubby about that.


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## Lolo22 (May 31, 2014)

Tweakabell said:


> Have you seen the pictures of the albino peacock? It's gorgeous!


I had to google it and omg I want one!!!! 

I collect nail polish, shoes and raincoats but I think that's it.  There's other stuff I have a lot of, but mostly only because I am forgetful haha.


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## Kelli (Jun 1, 2014)

I was trying to think of anything I collect and nothing came to mind initially (aside from makeup/nail polish lol). Then, I kind of thought about it and weird as it sounds I guess I kind of 'collect' reusable shopping bags &amp; tote bags. If I see a cute one I grab it (though I am horrible about actually bringing them to the store with me, I do use them for bringing books back to the library and stufflike that). I love the ones from Barnes &amp; Noble that have book covers on them (I have Of Mice &amp; Men, The Great Gatsby and To Kill A Mocking Bird). I also grab the cute $1 ones at Walmart and love getting the GWP ones from Sephora and Ulta (just got a Benefit one for making a purchase at Sephora over Memorial Day Weekend). Totally random, but I do kind of collect them haha.

I also randomly love stickers. Any stickers. It started back when I ran a message board for a band I loved and the girls on there and I would send each other mix cd's! I started out buying a few stickers and using them as extra tape to make sure the padded envelopes wouldn't open up during shipping. Now, I just will randomly buy ones I like and I have little nieces and nephew and I will pull them out and let them use them to make birthday cards and in drawings.

As for hobbies, I can't think of anything that I am really into now. It seems like I spend all my "free" time watching Netlix  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Currently I am working on watching Fringe, Numb3rs and Dexter.

I also like to read, but again, Netflix seems to consume more of my time than reading lately. I love mysteries, suspense/thriller/horror type stuff and any kind of cops/fbi type of things. Dean Koontz is my fave author and I also love Sue Grafton's alphabet books, Tami Hoag, Kay Hooper and Catherine Coulter. I have started getting into paranormal/sci-fi stuff. I love Kim Harrison's Hollow's novels and Darynda Jones' grimm reaper books.


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## bonita22 (Jun 1, 2014)

I collect frogs and nail polish. As for hobbies, I really like to paint. I'm not very good but I find it really helps me relax. My husband recently got me into airsoft, which is like paintball but with plastic pellets. There's an arena nearby and we go about once a month. The first time I went I wore shorts and a tshirt which was a big mistake, I had some nasty bruises on my legs and arms from getting hit up close. Now I wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt. I also love to hike, it's one of my favorite things to do when the weather is nice.


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## DonnaD (Jun 1, 2014)

Can someone give me a clue as to how to upload a picture?  The post box icon wants you to put in a url to a pic.  No upload option.  If I go into my media, every time I try to upload I get a internal server error even though it's well within the 128 mb range.

I really dislike this new board.  So much.


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## tacehtpuekam (Jun 1, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Can someone give me a clue as to how to upload a picture?  The post box icon wants you to put in a url to a pic.  No upload option.  If I go into my media, every time I try to upload I get a internal server error even though it's well within the 128 mb range.
> 
> I really dislike this new board.  So much.


Click 'more reply options.'It should give you the option to attach files. For the basic uploader you'll have to 'choose file' and then once it uploads hit 'attach this file.'


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## DonnaD (Jun 1, 2014)

allistra44 said:


> Click 'more reply options.'
> 
> It should give you the option to attach files. For the basic uploader you'll have to 'choose file' and then once it uploads hit 'attach this file.'


Please ignore this test. Just making sure it works.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 1, 2014)

@@DonnaD Upload Success!


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## DonnaD (Jun 1, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @@DonnaD Upload Success!


Awesome.  What a pain trying to figure it out though.  The image icon in the message box is useless unless you're hotlinking an image.  It was so much easier in the old forum.  Le sigh.


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## Babs28 (Jun 1, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Please ignore this test. Just making sure it works.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Awesome socks!!!!  I LOVE the colors!!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

PS  I think you are posting pics  to be worshiped for the crocheting goddess that you are.

 /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Lolo22 (Jun 1, 2014)

@@DonnaD those socks are so cute!!


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## DonnaD (Jun 1, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Awesome socks!!!!  I LOVE the colors!!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> PS  I think you are posting pics  to be worshiped for the crocheting goddess that you are.
> 
> /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Haha!  No, I was trying to show someone something I'm making for my midsummer's person and couldn't figure it out so I uploaded it to my webserver and linked to it instead...which is probably a better idea anyway since it's not in my media here where she might accidentally see it.  And no, it's not those socks.  I made those for my daughter.


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## DonnaD (Jun 1, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> @@DonnaD those socks are so cute!!


Thanks.  They're really adorable.  I love that sock yarn.  It has no wool.  Oftentimes crochet socks and be uncomfortable to wear since a crochet stitch is bumpier.  But these can actually be worn comfortably in shoes  which is a happy thing.


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## Babs28 (Jun 1, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Haha!  No, I was trying to show someone something I'm making for my midsummer's person and couldn't figure it out so I uploaded it to my webserver and linked to it instead...which is probably a better idea anyway since it's not in my media here where she might accidentally see it.  And no, it's not those socks.  I made those for my daughter.


Either way, I am worshipping you for the crocheting goddess :king:  that you are!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> *bows down*


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## BSquared (Jun 1, 2014)

Ooooo cute socks!!! They look nice and warm!!


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## rachelshine (Jun 1, 2014)

Zomg, I want to get started shopping so badllllly.


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## estefany (Jun 1, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Zomg, I want to get started shopping so badllllly.


Me too!! I need to know who my person is!! gaaahhhhh!!


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## BSquared (Jun 1, 2014)

Me threeeee!


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## Kelli (Jun 1, 2014)

Me four!

Another hobby of mine: couponing! So, if my person is down with some drugstore store items, I will be able to streeetttcchhh my budget even further.


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## Babs28 (Jun 1, 2014)

Just a reminder!  Tomorrow is the LAST DAY for Summerswap 2014 signups!  If you haven't signed up by then, you will not be able to participate.


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## SaraP (Jun 1, 2014)

Hurry and sign up!!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 1, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Just a reminder!  Tomorrow is the LAST DAY for Summerswap 2014 signups!  If you haven't signed up by then, you will not be able to participate.


If you have any other MUT friends who have yet to join, feel free to promote the summer swap on different parts of the forum!


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## Jac13 (Jun 1, 2014)

@@DonnaD those socks are too cute. The colors are very summery. @@Babs28 I had several old mason jaws from my Great Grandmother. They were really nice but sadly they washed away with the hurricane. I just hadn't gotten around to collecting them again. It is so true when they say some things are irreplaceable and priceless.

Any who... This summer swap should be lots of fun. I love seeing the reveals and all the creative and thoughtful touches.


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## sstich79 (Jun 1, 2014)

Testing out attaching a photo... thanks for the heads-up! I didn't want to have to get Instagram in order to share photos here. Anyway, this is my aforementioned traveling Munky.


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## nikkimouse (Jun 2, 2014)

I'm signed up I'm excited  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  as hard as i tried I just couldn't resist another swap  I can't wait for the stalking to begin!!!!!


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## marigoldsue (Jun 2, 2014)

I am going to be seriously stressing out my Swap Partner.  I haven't had a chance to make a list, or talk about hobbies (not that I am sure I have any) or plant any types of clues.  I so hope life slows down a bit this week, but I can't count on it.  I am going to need to reserve some serious time for stalking, I am sooooo far behind.


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## estefany (Jun 2, 2014)

haha! @@marigoldsue, I think we all share a passion for beauty  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

I'm sure whoever gets the chance to be your swapping buddy, will make you very happy.


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## sstich79 (Jun 2, 2014)

I can't stop looking at everyone's Summerswap wish lists... but I think I need to, because I'm starting to get attached to certain people as ones I think I'd be a good "fit" for. Like, "Ooh, we love the same silly things! And I have XYZ product that would be just PERFECT for her!"


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## Kelli (Jun 2, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> I can't stop looking at everyone's Summerswap wish lists... but I think I need to, because I'm starting to get attached to certain people as ones I think I'd be a good "fit" for. Like, "Ooh, we love the same silly things! And I have XYZ product that would be just PERFECT for her!"


I've been doing this too


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## estefany (Jun 2, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I've been doing this too


One more week!!


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## marigoldsue (Jun 2, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> I can't stop looking at everyone's Summerswap wish lists... but I think I need to, because I'm starting to get attached to certain people as ones I think I'd be a good "fit" for. Like, "Ooh, we love the same silly things! And I have XYZ product that would be just PERFECT for her!"


This is what I like best about this whole experience.  Sure it is going to be fun to get a box of unexpected pretties in the mail.  But, the absolute BEST part of this for me, is getting to know new people.  Sharing, laughing, finding connections, being inspired, learning new things.  Felling like you are making a whole new set of friends.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 2, 2014)

Once we do get assigned, I would advise you all to go into your settings &amp; turn off (unclick) the "show the last 5 visitors on your profile" link so that that doesn't pop up when you're on your homepage &amp; ruin the surprise.  

Just to be safe I'll be friending most of you shortly &amp; will be randomly clicking on ALL your pages to learn more about you &amp; to throw everyone off so nobody knows who their swap buddy really is.  Watch out. . . I'm a stalking.  ;-)


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## meaganola (Jun 2, 2014)

I have so many profile views from people that I know aren't even participating that I barely see clicks from people who are! And I'm a habitual profile clicker, so chances are I will have viewed my person's profile just due to the fact that your odds of clicking on one specific person out of, say, a hundred are pretty good if you've clicked on eighty-five of them. And then there are accidental views. And then there are stealth views. The recent profile views section means nothing to me!


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## DonnaD (Jun 2, 2014)

I have never looked a my profile cuz, ya know, I already know what it says lol.  But I did go in and turn off visitors because I don't want to ruin someone's fun.

I cannot wait to get my person!!  I haven't stalked profiles, though I've looked at a few,  because I'll get confused who likes what...it all becomes a big blur.  I just hope I get a person who participates this time!  My fun was had via all the people on the SSfor nails thread except the one I was buying for because she never went near the thread and I actually had to have someone contact her to ask if she got her presents as she never got back to me when I asked several times.

So I beg you all...please do not disappear from the thread.  It makes people sad.


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## tulosai (Jun 2, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I have never looked a my profile cuz, ya know, I already know what it says lol.  But I did go in and turn off visitors because I don't want to ruin someone's fun.
> 
> I cannot wait to get my person!!  I haven't stalked profiles, though I've looked at a few,  because I'll get confused who likes what...it all becomes a big blur.  I just hope I get a person who participates this time!  My fun was had via all the people on the SSfor nails thread except the one I was buying for because she never went near the thread and I actually had to have someone contact her to ask if she got her presents as she never got back to me when I asked several times.
> 
> So I beg you all...please do not disappear from the thread.  It makes people sad.


Yeah I feel you.  My regular santee wasn't AS bad as yours but she only posted one small part of the gift I got her publicly, never really thanked me, and hardly participated on the thread at all. It was a bummer.


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## DonnaD (Jun 2, 2014)

tulosai said:


> Yeah I feel you.  My regular santee wasn't AS bad as yours but she only posted one small part of the gift I got her publicly, never really thanked me, and hardly participated on the thread at all. It was a bummer.


I actually made better presents to other ladies who were participating in that thread.  I had my fun through gifting people that weren't assigned to me.  You gotta get your happy on when and where you can, right?

I don't understand why people would sign up for something like this and then just disappear from the thread though.  I assume our non-participating people sent gifts to their person and that person didn't get to have the fun of trying to figure out who was their gifter.   It's just so much more fun when you can see people's excitement...or at least read it.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 2, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I have never looked a my profile cuz, ya know, I already know what it says lol.  But I did go in and turn off visitors because I don't want to ruin someone's fun.
> 
> I cannot wait to get my person!!  I haven't stalked profiles, though I've looked at a few,  because I'll get confused who likes what...it all becomes a big blur.  I just hope I get a person who participates this time!  My fun was had via all the people on the SSfor nails thread except the one I was buying for because she never went near the thread and I actually had to have someone contact her to ask if she got her presents as she never got back to me when I asked several times.
> 
> *So I beg you all...please do not disappear from the thread.  It makes people sad.*


Agreed!!!  I really think it should be required to post a certain number of times per week once the swap starts, because the funnest part is getting to know your giftee. The read between the lines stuff and random clues are way more fun and exciting than the wishlists (to me at least)!   I was born to stalk h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## chelsealady (Jun 2, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Agreed!!! I really think it should be required to post a certain number of times per week once the swap starts, because the funnest part is getting to know your giftee. The read between the lines stuff and random clues are way more fun and exciting than the wishlists (to me at least)! I was born to stalk h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I can't wait to start stalking my person. I think I have mad present skills. And being able to find the perfect thing for a person who you have never met is the ultimate skill.


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## sstich79 (Jun 2, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Agreed!!!  I really think it should be required to post a certain number of times per week once the swap starts, because the funnest part is getting to know your giftee. The read between the lines stuff and random clues are way more fun and exciting than the wishlists (to me at least)!   I was born to stalk h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Clues? I'm supposed to leave clues? Somebody is going to have to educate me on the ins and outs of this stuff! LOL.


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## Christa W (Jun 2, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Clues? I'm supposed to leave clues? Somebody is going to have to educate me on the ins and outs of this stuff! LOL.


You already do this without realizing. You want a circle glitter topper because you are over hexes but don't like combo of purple and yellow because it was your high school colors. That's a huge clue right there just from 2 posts in the indie lovers thread.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 2, 2014)

Christa W said:


> You already do this without realizing. You want a circle glitter topper because you are over hexes but don't like combo of purple and yellow because it was your high school colors. That's a huge clue right there just from 2 posts in the indie lovers thread.


You're like a lady Sherlock! (I'm watching it right now, so it's on my mind lol)


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## Lolo22 (Jun 2, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Clues? I'm supposed to leave clues? Somebody is going to have to educate me on the ins and outs of this stuff! LOL.


No, just look alive haha.  You already have 253 posts of pure juicy gold.  Plus we know you like scarfs, hats and lipstick and look super cute when you smile  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I could make you a box right now!


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## jayeme (Jun 2, 2014)

To my future swap person: I'm sorry I don't have a list yet! Or many recent posts! I promise I'll do better! Just give me a little more time, moving + a new job = soooo much stress right now and not enough time for MUT  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## chelsealady (Jun 2, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Clues? I'm supposed to leave clues? Somebody is going to have to educate me on the ins and outs of this stuff! LOL.


Clues I can't do. I'm afraid to even like or quote my midsummer person in case I give it away. I did do a real life banana dance when she posted something that she liked and I had bought it for her.


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## chelsealady (Jun 2, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> You're like a lady Sherlock! (I'm watching it right now, so it's on my mind lol)


Is season three on Netflix today?


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## bonita22 (Jun 2, 2014)

To my summer swap buddy, I'm on a no buy until after this swap is over. I will be taking care of my nieces and nephews (6 kids total) this summer, so I might not be able to log on as much. However, I do promise to have my SummerSwap wishlist up by the end of the week.


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## sstich79 (Jun 2, 2014)

Christa W said:


> You already do this without realizing. You want a circle glitter topper because you are over hexes but don't like combo of purple and yellow because it was your high school colors. That's a huge clue right there just from 2 posts in the indie lovers thread.


Oh, LOL, I was thinking in reverse, like planting clues for my giftee as to who I am! That would be a much more complicated endeavor.

ETA: Aw, thanks, Lolo! You're too sweet, now I'm blushing... which means I don't need to use one of my 500 gazillion blushes that I always want more of! SUPER SUBTLE CLUE ACTION.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Christa W (Jun 2, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Oh, LOL, I was thinking in reverse, like planting clues for my giftee as to who I am! That would be a much more complicated endeavor.
> 
> ETA: Aw, thanks, Lolo! You're too sweet, now I'm blushing... which means I don't need to use one of my 500 gazillion blushes that I always want more of! SUPER SUBTLE CLUE ACTION.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />



Oh!!!! Pfft!! Yeah I almost did that last time!! I am totally planning on waiting for my person to find out its me when the get the package.


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## DonnaD (Jun 2, 2014)

I just finished up shopping for puppymomofthree who is my unofficial fairy goddaughter and picked up a little something for my as yet unknown summer friend.  Hurry up with the names!  I have money burning a hole in my pocket!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 2, 2014)

I can't wait to have an official person to stalk! Although, I have had fun stalking all of you lovely ladies generally!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 2, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> Is season three on Netflix today?


Yes I just noticed it was today.


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## BSquared (Jun 2, 2014)

I didn't even know we could see who looks at your profile! How fancy!


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## BSquared (Jun 2, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Agreed!!! I really think it should be required to post a certain number of times per week once the swap starts, because the funnest part is getting to know your giftee. The read between the lines stuff and random clues are way more fun and exciting than the wishlists (to me at least)! I was born to stalk h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Yes!! A large part of my job is stalking. So I was born for this!! so excited!!


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## valeried44 (Jun 2, 2014)

I'm sooooo excited!  I keep seeing sales and thinking, I wonder if I should get this just in case my summerswapee would like it.  I'm holding myself to a no buy (for myself at least), but, dang it, I'm trying to trick myself into buying something because I would like it even it wouldn't be right for my swapee.  Shame on me!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Off to complete my swap list... I don't want someone to get my name and be disappointed by not having much information.


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## Jac13 (Jun 2, 2014)

I think I am going to do a mixture of beauty products and non beauty items. I love driving to water parks so pretty beach towels, sandals/ flip flops, cute summer bag are fun items to throw in. I would even consider throwing in gardens bulbs if my person was into planting. I personally would love some movie passes, lol. Any who.... I can't wait to see who I have and what I can think of to make my swap buddy smile.


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## BSquared (Jun 2, 2014)

valeried44 said:


> I'm sooooo excited! I keep seeing sales and thinking, I wonder if I should get this just in case my summerswapee would like it. I'm holding myself to a no buy (for myself at least), but, dang it, I'm trying to trick myself into buying something because I would like it even it wouldn't be right for my swapee. Shame on me!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> Off to complete my swap list... I don't want someone to get my name and be disappointed by not having much information.


It's like you live in my head! I was literally just on a website thinking "well maybe my person will like this kind of stuff....and if not I will like it!!" I gotta watch myself until I get my buddy next week!


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## Jac13 (Jun 2, 2014)

Next week?! I was hoping it would be sometime this week.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 2, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> I think I am going to do a mixture of beauty products and non beauty items. I love driving to water parks so pretty beach towels, sandals/ flip flops, cute summer bag are fun items to throw in. I would even consider throwing in gardens bulbs if my person was into planting. I personally would love some movie passes, lol. Any who.... I can't wait to see who I have and what I can think of to make my swap buddy smile.


All of that sounds amazing to me!


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## Jac13 (Jun 2, 2014)

Hmmm.... I just realize the max is suppose to be $25. How am I going to stick to that, lol?!


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## Jac13 (Jun 2, 2014)

@@CurlyTails I think it would be nice to get a mixture of items. But if my swap buddy just prefer beauty items, I will oblige.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 2, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> Hmmm.... I just realize the max is suppose to be $25. How am I going to stick to that, lol?!


That's part of the fun for me!! Shopping my stash, finding coupons, trading, and using bb points is how I'll get by! There's someone on here whose trade list had a ton of goodies that I'm sure whoever I get will looove (if not, I'll use them!) But stopping at $25 out of pocket is definitely tough


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## Jac13 (Jun 2, 2014)

Yea... I always go over. I usually know what I want to get and I am not happy unless I actually buy it, lol. I shopped my stash during Christmas and it was a hit with teachers and friends. Now I am shopping around looking for sales. I already know what treats I will include for my FGC. This one I am not sure. I love seeing how much extra things people have in their stash. My friend thinks I am crazy for doing this but I enjoyed the last two so I said why not to the summer ones.


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## meaganola (Jun 2, 2014)

I was under the impression that the $25 limit is just supposed to cover the beauty items!  I was planning on $25 for the beauty stuff, and then any non-makeup/skin/hair/etc. stuff would be extra above and beyond the limit.  

(And I *hate* the summer, heat, and sun, so my person will not get anything beachy or sun-oriented from me because warm, sunny days equal time to hide in a library or movie theatre and hope I don't get sick!  Heat makes me want to throw up, and sun has started triggering these migraine-related visual disturbances called scintillating scotoma even when it's not hot out.  I remember many summers growing up when my brother and I were shipped off to our grandparents' houses -- both sets lived in the same town, so we would shuttle between them during the summer -- in central Washington, and pretty much all I was allowed to do due to the puking thing was stay inside, read, and watch tv because Yakima summers are *not* cool, overcast things, and my grandparents had air conditioning.  I watched _The Last Starfighter_, _Explorers_, and _The Neverending Story_ dozens of times because those three movies always seemed to be on cable, and I read tabloids galore because Mom's mom was obsessed with them, and I read original-printing Nancy Drew from the '50s because Mom's sisters had collected them when they were my age.  Oh, and I watched a lot of MTV since that was the '80s, and they still showed music videos back then.  And game shows!  MTV had some fun ones like _Remote Control_, but I remember loving _Match Game PM_ and _Press Your Luck_, too.  At Dad's parents' house, I read old _Mad_ magazines, the entire James Bond series -- the original Ian Fleming books since the non-Fleming books didn't exist at the time -- and monster magazines from the '60s and '70s because my dad and his brothers were into them.)

(My favorite movie about the beach:  _The Goonies_.  I was that age at that time, and it was filmed close enough that we could go there on a day trip.  Yes, I recognize that it's not exactly what most people think of as a beach movie.  It's very much the coast when you're from Portland!)


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## sstich79 (Jun 2, 2014)

meaganola said:


> (And I *hate* the summer, heat, and sun, so my person will not get anything beachy or sun-oriented from me because warm, sunny days equal time to hide in a library or movie theatre and hope I don't get sick!


That's so funny (well, not funny ha-ha that you get sick in the sun, but you know, funny) because something about your profile photo just made me assume you were a sun-loving beach goddess! Must be the way that glowing light in the corner is hitting your hair.


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## meaganola (Jun 2, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> That's so funny (well, not funny ha-ha that you get sick in the sun, but you know, funny) because something about your profile photo just made me assume you were a sun-loving beach goddess! Must be the way that glowing light in the corner is hitting your hair.


Oh, wow, definitely not!  That photo was taken in the middle of winter a couple of years ago, and I'm wearing big dark sunglasses in it.  Even though it was January.  And there's a strong possibility that it was actually taken indoors.  I'm so pale that I have to use Korean bb cream in order to get stuff light enough for my pasty Irish self.  I was just taking the photo to show my college roommate what my natural hair color is (I dyed and bleached my hair within an inch of its life for over twenty years, but I moved away before it grew out long enough for her to see it in person), and I liked how streaky it looked in that photo!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 2, 2014)

@@meaganola yup -- the way I play the game is $25 is strictly for beauty spends. Any craft goods, local stuff, general non-beauty is above and beyond on my own volition. If I wanna send my girl a bunch of candy, I'm not gonna count that part of my $25!

I assumed we were all under the same function for the $25!


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## Dashery (Jun 2, 2014)

I can't wait to get my partner! Once I survive this weekend, I'll be able to bring out my detective chops!  :glasses:


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## dancersmum (Jun 2, 2014)

@@meaganola - I'm like you - I &lt;3 the snow!  

I don't do heat and humidity well - I love the cold and nice cozy sweaters and boots.   My whole family is like that - we don't do beach holidays we go find winter when ever we can!  I am looking forward to our assignments so I can start to figure out what to buy.

I'm on a low-buy but summerswap is my exception!


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## dancersmum (Jun 2, 2014)

@@Dashery - the talent you have!!!! OMG!!!!

I can't wait to see what the final product looks like - its already stunning! :w00t:

Please post more pics when you are finished!


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## Jac13 (Jun 2, 2014)

Umm... I always think everyone likes what I like, lol. I will make sure I do some detective work and maybe use a spy to scope out my person.


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## Dashery (Jun 2, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@Dashery - the talent you have!!!! OMG!!!!
> 
> I can't wait to see what the final product looks like - its already stunning! :w00t:
> 
> Please post more pics when you are finished!


Aww thank you so much!  :hugs3:

And thanks to anyone else who posted all those lovely comments I saw! I wasn't able to respond because I've been putting in more than twelve hours each day to get a few different costumes done. It's a team effort at this point. But I can feel myself (and the rest of my group) approaching the finish line!

I'll probably do a FOTD or DIY post on Thursday, when I test out my costume in full for the first time.


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## Jac13 (Jun 2, 2014)

As for the limits... I am not always a rule follower. I have to be happy with what I send. It's hot and humid where I am. So summertime is filled with a daily snowball and lots of other cold items in between.


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## DonnaD (Jun 2, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @@meaganola yup -- the way I play the game is $25 is strictly for beauty spends. Any craft goods, local stuff, general non-beauty is above and beyond on my own volition. If I wanna send my girl a bunch of candy, I'm not gonna count that part of my $25!
> 
> I assumed we were all under the same function for the $25!


I was planning on buying some...maybe even none...beauty items.  Just because it's a makeup forum doesn't necessarily mean only makeup presents.  At least I hope not.  I'd rather have anything but makeup.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 2, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I was planning on buying some...maybe even none...beauty items. Just because it's a makeup forum doesn't necessarily mean only makeup presents. At least I hope not. I'd rather have anything but makeup.


Traditionally, these are beauty-focused swaps. Im hoping we can have a craft or home goods focused swap down the line!

I'm certain most wishlists will have an almost-all make up centric list but will of course welcome extras and other goodies. If your preference is to *only* have non-make up items, then feel free to mention that in your wishlist or send a message along via a Roadie or myself (details coming soon). However, just note that most wishlists will show an appreciation for mostly beauty goods as this is a beauty forum with a beauty slanted swap.

Your work is wonderful! Feel free to PM myself or @@Babs28 if you have other questions.


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## Jac13 (Jun 3, 2014)

@@DonnaD you can always mix beauty items with other things. Maybe do one nice beauty item and other non beauty items. I guess it really boils down to your swap buddy. I am open to beauty and non beauty items. I think it's fun to try and mix it up but still focusing on the beauty.


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

What I'm saying is, based on the 6 or so lists I've seen (that weren't copied directly from the midsummer swap) people have lots of stuff listed both cosmetic and non-cosmetic. Depending on what I see on my person's list, I may not go for cosmetics if there's something else in her list I would rather buy her or is easier to get or whatever.

I just hope that my person does something other than the midsummer's copy and paste list because it doesn't really scream "you" so much as it screams "I want."  Not that that's a bad thing but I think the half the fun in picking out presents is based on personality and not on brand, know what I mean?


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## marigoldsue (Jun 3, 2014)

bsquared said:


> It's like you live in my head! I was literally just on a website thinking "well maybe my person will like this kind of stuff....and if not I will like it!!" I gotta watch myself until I get my buddy next week!


I have been doing some shopping along those lines.  Plus, if I have already purchased it before we get our buddies, it is part of my "stash" and I don't have to consider it part of my spending limit...  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> What I'm saying is, based on the 6 or so lists I've seen (that weren't copied directly from the midsummer swap) people have lots of stuff listed both cosmetic and non-cosmetic. Depending on what I see on my person's list, I may not go for cosmetics if there's something else in her list I would rather buy her or is easier to get or whatever.
> 
> I just hope that my person does something other than the midsummer's copy and paste list because it doesn't really scream "you" so much as it screams "I want."  Not that that's a bad thing but I think the half the fun in picking out presents is based on personality and not on brand, know what I mean?


I did my list based on what kind of list I want to see *from the person I'm buying for*.  I've had complete meltdowns (complete with crying in the middle of the store) while shopping for presents because I cannot shop without specific brand and shade information.  To me, the list is to keep people like me from breaking down while trying to figure out *something* that might not be hated, and this thread is where personality and non-makeup stuff goes.  

(Translation:  Oh dear sweet glittery Buddha, please please *please* list out some exact things you want so I'm not flipping out at the last minute in Lush/Blush/Target/Fred Meyer and finally randomly grabbing *something* that won't melt in transit because I've just given up.  I come from a family who gives cash because we cannot buy presents without a very specific list.)


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## Christa W (Jun 3, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I did my list based on what kind of list I want to see *from the person I'm buying for*.  I've had complete meltdowns (complete with crying in the middle of the store) while shopping for presents because I cannot shop without specific brand and shade information.  To me, the list is to keep people like me from breaking down while trying to figure out *something* that might not be hated, and this thread is where personality and non-makeup stuff goes.
> 
> (Translation:  Oh dear sweet glittery Buddha, please please *please* list out some exact things you want so I'm not flipping out at the last minute in Lush/Blush/Target/Fred Meyer and finally randomly grabbing *something* that won't melt in transit because I've just given up.  I come from a family who gives cash because we cannot buy presents without a very specific list.)


I've had shopping anxiety for the last two swaps I have done and after it was over I said I wouldn't do it again.  I can't say that I won't do the same thing if it's someone I don't know.  However,  I think all the info give so far in this thread encourages me to be more hopeful this go around.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 3, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I did my list based on what kind of list I want to see *from the person I'm buying for*.  I've had complete meltdowns (complete with crying in the middle of the store) while shopping for presents because I cannot shop without specific brand and shade information.  To me, the list is to keep people like me from breaking down while trying to figure out *something* that might not be hated, and this thread is where personality and non-makeup stuff goes.
> 
> (Translation:  Oh dear sweet glittery Buddha, please please *please* list out some exact things you want so I'm not flipping out at the last minute in Lush/Blush/Target/Fred Meyer and finally randomly grabbing *something* that won't melt in transit because I've just given up.  I come from a family who gives cash because we cannot buy presents without a very specific list.)


This is how I did mine, I've been working on wish lists for myself for years now of things I want to buy someday. So I just linked to a bunch of them and gave some preferences for each item, likes, dislikes, etc. I don't think anyone's list that I've seen comes across as "I want all of this" more just trying to give a better picture of themselves for their gifter. I like to include as much information as possible so it can still be a surprise, and so the person who gets me isn't completely in the dark.


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I did my list based on what kind of list I want to see *from the person I'm buying for*.  I've had complete meltdowns (complete with crying in the middle of the store) while shopping for presents because I cannot shop without specific brand and shade information.  To me, the list is to keep people like me from breaking down while trying to figure out *something* that might not be hated, and this thread is where personality and non-makeup stuff goes.
> 
> (Translation:  Oh dear sweet glittery Buddha, please please *please* list out some exact things you want so I'm not flipping out at the last minute in Lush/Blush/Target/Fred Meyer and finally randomly grabbing *something* that won't melt in transit because I've just given up.  I come from a family who gives cash because we cannot buy presents without a very specific list.)


In that case, it's a good thing I'm so easy because I am brand loyal to exactly 4 things:  Mrs. Meyers geranium  countertop spray, Palmolive Oxy dish soap, Cocoa cola and Extra gum.  For real.  I love trying different things and I couldn't care less if it's Equate or Nars.

I'm thinking beauty related...soap, salts, lotions...all that stuff is cosmetics to me.  Am I alone in that?

Regardless, I have puppymomofthree as my unofficial midsummer's person and we've agreed to just do whatever for each other, makeup...no makeup...whatever.  In this group, however, I'll see what my person wants.  Dear Jesus, please let my person have a list!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

@@meaganola that makes total sense!

I enjoy seeing a specific wishlist in addition to other background info (fav colors, scents, brands, etc) to get a feel for what they like and what I know/have/can afford that could be comparable.

I think I gave this example in the midsummer - if my list had OCC liptars or indicated that those are a HG, I would hope that

1. I am mostly familiar with the product and might own a few

2. That I like that liquid or paint like lip product

3. Make the connection that LA Girl lip paints are similar and cost a quarter of the OCC price OR that Tarte just came out with the Melteds - also pricey but "look" comparable (or so I think. I actually don't know)

At least this is the strategy I take when I see a specific item wishlist. I didn't know LA Girl existed until recently and I think that if my buddy is able to discern budget friendly products that are similar or may fall in line with other things that I've indicated, then that's totally awesome and everyone wins!

Or -- another. Tarte Lipsurgences on a wishlist. Well, there are also Hard Candy high gloss pencils, NYX chubby stick types, Jordana, etc.


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> This is how I did mine, I've been working on wish lists for myself for years now of things I want to buy someday. So I just linked to a bunch of them and gave some preferences for each item, likes, dislikes, etc.* I don't think anyone's list that I've seen comes across as "I want all of this" *more just trying to give a better picture of themselves for their gifter. I like to include as much information as possible so it can still be a surprise, and so the person who gets me isn't completely in the dark.


I didn't mean that in a greedy way.  I meant it in a clinical way.  It's easy to list specific things but if it doesn't have "personality" then all I'm doing is buying on a grocery list.  Get me?  Extras are way easier to buy when you have a sense of what that person is like beyond "Lipsurgence in Hooker Fuchsia".  I don't think they have that colour yet so don't go looking for it.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

For those fearing your partner won't have a list...

We will be sharing the additional survey questions in sign ups with you so you'll have some baseline set of information. There's also stalking, this discussion page, some people have made SummerSwap lists, and you can always request a Roadie or myself to send them a sneaky PM and pass the info along to you!


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## Christa W (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I didn't mean that in a greedy way.  I meant it in a clinical way.  It's easy to list specific things but if it doesn't have "personality" then all I'm doing is buying on a grocery list.  Get me?  Extras are way easier to buy when you have a sense of what that person is like beyond "Lipsurgence in Hooker Fuchsia".  I don't think they have that colour yet so don't go looking for it.


LOL.  I was totally going to go look for it and buy it for you!


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## meaganola (Jun 3, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I don't think anyone's list that I've seen comes across as "I want all of this" more just trying to give a better picture of themselves for their gifter.


 
Oh, yes, you reminded me of something else:  It's not so much "I want all of these things!" as much as "Here are twenty things I've been eyeing, and I would be thrilled with just one of them!"  

Also, I'm not sure if I've offered my services up here yet, but I'll go ahead and do it now since I've already offered this elsewhere:  If anyone wants a loose pigment consultation (especially Glamour Doll Eyes -- and, really, *anything* GDE because I think I use everything they make! -- or Geek Chic Cosmetics) for their recipient, just PM me!  It will take me until the evening (or maybe the next evening) because of how much time I end up spending thinking about the inquiry, but I *love* this stuff and would be happy to help out.  (And I have a sizable GDE collection and might be able to do a palette-style swatch scenario if you were thinking about colors in terms of a set.)


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I didn't mean that in a greedy way. I meant it in a clinical way. It's easy to list specific things but if it doesn't have "personality" then all I'm doing is buying on a grocery list. Get me? Extras are way easier to buy when you have a sense of what that person is like beyond "Lipsurgence in Hooker Fuchsia". I don't think they have that colour yet so don't go looking for it.


I'm going to politely disagree! I think if I saw "Lipsurgence in Fuchsia" (I don't think fuchsia is limited to hookers) then I can discern 1. They like crayon style lip products 2. They like that fuchsia color family and I can go from there!
Edit to add: in terms of extras, then I know they might like that color in a practical sense and use it to decorate cards, pick up wrapping paper, etc.


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

Christa W said:


> LOL.  I was totally going to go look for it and buy it for you!


Could you get it in Hooker Rose?  Fuchsia clashes with my hair.  :lol:


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

Ohhh @@meaganola that's really helpful. I know nothing about indies and i definitely do not know much about loose eyeshadow. Which one is the one you talk about when you mention themed collections?


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 3, 2014)

@@meaganola I might have to take you up on the GDE for myself! I've been eyeing the blogger package but I have no idea what colors I'd want.


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

Disappeared Sephora post?


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## meaganola (Jun 3, 2014)

@ Glamour Doll Eyes has the Super Shadows collection, which are all based on comic book heroes and villains, but I'm thinking you're talking about Geek Chic Cosmetics.  The Walking Dead, Sherlock, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, Firefly, The Neverending Story, and more.  And they do eyeshadow, lipgloss, lipstick, blush, face powder, solid perfume, and nail polish!  Espionage Cosmetics also has some fandom-oriented collections, and they have a *bunch* of fannish nail wraps.  Shiro does a lot of fandom stuff as well, but I'm not very familiar with their line.  Yet.

@@Kelly Silva  Absolutely!  Just PM me!  I will say that if you're eyeing the blogger set, I would suggest the sample jar collection.  They're all really great shades, and buying it as a set means you're getting something like 30% off.  Once you start with this company, you'll probably end up wanting everything, so you might as well start with the set!


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Edit to add: in terms of extras, then I know they might like that color in a practical sense and use it to decorate cards, pick up wrapping paper, etc.


I wouldn't personally think that someone likes the colour fuchsia because that's the colour lipstick they like to wear.  What flatters your complexion isn't necessarily something you would decorate your house with or be a favourite clothing color.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I wouldn't personally think that someone likes the colour fuchsia because that's the colour lipstick they like to wear.  What flatters your complexion isn't necessarily something you would decorate your house with or be a favourite clothing color.


for a previous swap one of the girls kept mentioning she loved pinks in her wishlist - pink eyeshadows, pink lipsticks, pink nail polish... I think it was safe to say she liked pink and I kinda ran with that. But, I do get what you mean - I just think that in some cases it might be a safe bet. If favorite colors and other more "personality" type questions are something that would be helpful and your Swap Buddy didn't list that in any form of survey or profile, then feel free to ask that question via a Roadie in a PM to cover that base.


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## Babs28 (Jun 3, 2014)

Summerswap signups have officially closed!  There are 53 people participating!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  The majority are not participating in the Midsummer's swap so there shouldn't be any duplicate givers/receivers.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Now it's time for me to start assigning buddies!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

Speaking of roadies...how will we know who they are?  Is there a thread for that?


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 3, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Summerswap signups have officially closed!  There are 53 people participating!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  The majority are not participating in the Midsummer's swap so there shouldn't be any duplicate givers/receivers.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> Now it's time for me to start assigning buddies!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Yay! I can't wait to be able to officially stalk my receiver!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Speaking of roadies...how will we know who they are?  Is there a thread for that?


Yup, we're working on that and will be launched shortly, just waiting on sign ups to close! We will post a separate thread for it. @@OpheliaDiFranco will be helping out with that and for now, you can go through me if you have any other questions!


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## bonita22 (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Dear Jesus, please let my person have a list!


Yes! It's very hard to shop for someone that doesn't have a list. It should be a mandatory thing when signing up for these swaps. The way I see it, even someone that is up for anything has some preferences.

I don't post very often, but I'll try to check in at least a couple times a week. I've been on this forum for a year and a half but I still feel and act like a lurker.

I just finished my SummerSwap list, hopefully my buddy can get a good idea of my general preferences. I did my best to not copy my midsummer swap list verbatim.


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## valeried44 (Jun 3, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I did my list based on what kind of list I want to see *from the person I'm buying for*.  I've had complete meltdowns (complete with crying in the middle of the store) while shopping for presents because I cannot shop without specific brand and shade information.  To me, the list is to keep people like me from breaking down while trying to figure out *something* that might not be hated, and this thread is where personality and non-makeup stuff goes.
> 
> (Translation:  Oh dear sweet glittery Buddha, please please *please* list out some exact things you want so I'm not flipping out at the last minute in Lush/Blush/Target/Fred Meyer and finally randomly grabbing *something* that won't melt in transit because I've just given up.  I come from a family who gives cash because we cannot buy presents without a very specific list.)


Thank you for posting this.  I specifically stayed away from mentioning specific brands or products since I'm truly open to anything, but I can see where you are coming from.  The last thing that I want to do is be a contributing factor to someone's meltdown during what should be a fun experience.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I'll add more specific items to my list, so that those that want/need that will have it.


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## jennm149 (Jun 3, 2014)

I know I missed the discussion yesterday about people not posting, but I just wanted to make a small plea about that.

Swap Buddy -- as long as you post some sort of wish list (even a trade list is good, because I can see things you're interested in and things you are looking to swap), I can probably work with that.  But if evil is lurking in your heart about swaplifting -- please bow out of this now!

Putting my sad story in a spoiler, so if you want to keep up your happy, you don't have to read it!



Spoiler



While my Santee last Christmas posted occassionally, the day after I sent her gift, I found in another thread that she was in the middle of an attempted swaplifting of a circular swap box.  She did eventually send that one along, but more or less disappeared from the site.  I never heard from her at all about what I sent (publicly or privately), and only knew that she received her box because an elf verified that with her when I finally couldn't stand the suspense about a week after I got the notice that her box was delivered.

The only reason I'm posting this here is because she did later successfully swaplift another box and has been banned from MUT.  But it still kind of makes me sad that I spent time putting something together and she not only never bothered to say "hi -- I got it," but actually was such a rotten MUTter.  And I feel mad and strangely guilty that all of the stuff from my stash that I could have sent along to help restart the box she stole ended up with her!



Anyway -- I'm SO! SO! excited to hear soon about our swap buddies.  I do have a question:  I have been using gift cards that I received without spending money (a Sephora card I got for participating in something on another board, and some GCs that were in GlossyBox this month) and not counting that toward "out of pocket."  That's OK ... right?  Just want to be sure.  Thanks!!


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## OpheliaDiFranco (Jun 3, 2014)

Ok girls we are getting close!!!!

The Roadie thread is officially open! 

Roadies act as the go-between for the giftee and the gifter.  This position was primarily developed during Secret Santa to provide the giftee with shipping and tracking information, but has since evolved to be a mulch-faceted position.  A roadie can be called upon for anything from asking their giftee to post a wish list or give them some direction to reporting shipping delays.  The roadie would help protect the gifter's anonymity by contacting the gifter with any Summerswap questions/info.

To sign up, please use the link below to access the Roadie's Backstage Hangout.  Just post that you are willing to help out and I will compile the volunteers as they come in and  post a master list before assignments are made.  Even if you don't have time to help out, you can access the list in the same thread to find a Roadie and PM them directly.  I am sure this goes without saying, but don't post the help you need in the thread, as that would defeat the purpose    (something I would totally do lol)

Ok Ladies here is the link to the thread:

https://www.makeuptalk.com/f/topic/132637-summerswap-2014-roadies-backstage-hangout/

Please PM me (or Babs28, or USofjessamerica)  if you have any questions or need help!!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> Anyway -- I'm SO! SO! excited to hear soon about our swap buddies.  I do have a question:  I have been using gift cards that I received without spending money (a Sephora card I got for participating in something on another board, and some GCs that were in GlossyBox this month) and* not counting that toward "out of pocket."*  That's OK ... right?  Just want to be sure.  Thanks!!


Yup!! Thats right!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 3, 2014)

Jeepers @@jennm149, I didn't even know that happened  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

I think with the extra long shopping times for these summer swaps it is definitely a huge bummer if your person doesn't post their reveal/that they got it. 2 months of curation from a stranger at least deserves a quick post in here, that's just my opinion though.


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## estefany (Jun 3, 2014)

@@jennm149, OUCH!

I just found out yesterday that i will be travelling this summer :/ 

Idk if to back out from this or send my swapee her goodies earlier than expected. 

Suggestions?? 

Also, if I am not home to receive my goodies, it would be difficult to post a reveal..


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## tulosai (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I was planning on buying some...maybe even none...beauty items.  Just because it's a makeup forum doesn't necessarily mean only makeup presents.  At least I hope not.  I'd rather have anything but makeup.


I personally would be 100% okay with this.



usofjessamerica said:


> @@meaganola yup -- the way I play the game is $25 is strictly for beauty spends. Any craft goods, local stuff, general non-beauty is above and beyond on my own volition. If I wanna send my girl a bunch of candy, I'm not gonna count that part of my $25!
> 
> I assumed we were all under the same function for the $25!


Yes, how I approach mine is that I do _try to _cap it at $25 on beauty items (I do include bath items in this).  Then I shop my stash and don't count any of that obviously. Then I buy food or candles or whatever else it may be as 'extras' and don't count that either.



DonnaD said:


> What I'm saying is, based on the 6 or so lists I've seen (that weren't copied directly from the midsummer swap) people have lots of stuff listed both cosmetic and non-cosmetic. Depending on what I see on my person's list, I may not go for cosmetics if there's something else in her list I would rather buy her or is easier to get or whatever.
> 
> I just hope that my person does something other than the midsummer's copy and paste list because it doesn't really scream "you" so much as it screams "I want."  Not that that's a bad thing but I think the half the fun in picking out presents is based on personality and not on brand, know what I mean?


I also agree with this. Ideally I like to have a combo though to help me 'optimally' sort it out  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

estefany said:


> @@jennm149, OUCH!
> 
> I just found out yesterday that i will be travelling this summer :/
> 
> ...


Feel free to PM babs28 or myself (or both!) with the details of your travel and we could work it out. If you want to back out, just let me know as we are currently working on assignments  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

It would be OK to send earlier!


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## marigoldsue (Jun 3, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Feel free to PM babs28 or myself (or both!) with the details of your travel and we could work it out. If you want to back out, just let me know as we are currently working on assignments  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> It would be OK to send earlier!


Patience has never been my virute, and I am all antsy with anticipation for the assignments.  I wish I could offer to pay for personal assistants for each of you to handle your real life "chores" for a few days, so you can focus on the assignments!


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## tulosai (Jun 3, 2014)

This is so five pages ago, but I thought of another thing I collect- RUBBER DUCKIES!!!! I LOVE RUBBER DUCKIES!!! Not even kidding.


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

tulosai said:


> I personally would be 100% okay with this.
> 
> Yes, how I approach mine is that I do _try to _cap it at $25 on beauty items (I do include bath items in this).  Then I shop my stash and don't count any of that obviously. Then I buy food or candles or whatever else it may be as 'extras' and don't count that either.
> 
> I also agree with this. Ideally I like to have a combo though to help me 'optimally' sort it out  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


The only beauty related thing I really want is priced out of the $25 range so I didn't even list it.  That makes being specific very hard for me.  I have more makeup than I will ever use before it expires so that's why I said what I said but that's just me, right?

It was so much easier with nail polish lol.  That's totally a beauty item but I guess I'd rather see what someone comes up with for me on their own which is why I said anything but makeup.

I truly dislike buying makeup so people having specifics makes it 100000% easier and it is a beauty forum so thinking further on my previous comments, I was going by what I want rather than what someone else wants which makes me a selfish b*tch...sorta.  I'm just glad that lotions and potions count as beauty items and most people have them on their lists.

In any event, I'm excited to have puppymomofthree as my unofficial fairy goddaughter and that we've agreed to a "whatever we want to send" swap.  That satisfies my need to be all surprising and more creative in my choice of gifts.  And who knows?  The person I get here might have the kind of personality and gels well with my own enough that I can still get my surprise on.


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

tulosai said:


> This is so five pages ago, but I thought of another thing I collect- RUBBER DUCKIES!!!! I LOVE RUBBER DUCKIES!!! Not even kidding.


OMG!  Me too!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

@@DonnaD list it anyway! People have stuff like Naked palettes, etc. Definitely out of the price range but gives a good clue!


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## jennm149 (Jun 3, 2014)

Since @@tulosai brought it up -- I have a secret collection to confess to you ladies.

It's Princess of Power action figures. 

I always liked the She-Ra stuff (even though I was really way too old for it when it first was out), but a few years ago, Mattel started issuing a collector series of He-Man toys that my husband (also way too old for them!) wanted.  So he started getting them, and then they came out with a She-Ra ... and now I suddenly have about a dozen figures and my husband is buying me vintage versions of some things, I have a subscription to the Matty.com collectors club PoP that they are doing this year and we've spent many a happy Sunday afternoon watching Pixel Dan's reviews of MotU and PoP figures.

So, while completely un-beauty item related, it does perhaps provide a bit of insight to my Swap Buddy!


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @@DonnaD list it anyway! People have stuff like Naked palettes, etc. Definitely out of the price range but gives a good clue!


Nah.  It falls under my never-ending quest for a good facial moisturiser for extra dry skin...It would be a "want to try" and since there's a lot of spendy ones I would try, I'm good with anything.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> In any event, I'm excited to have puppymomofthree as my unofficial fairy goddaughter and that we've agreed to a "whatever we want to send" swap.  That satisfies my need to be all surprising and more creative in my choice of gifts.  And who knows?  The person I get here might have the kind of personality and gels well with my own enough that I can still get my surprise on.


I'm not doing summerswap because I already had two with my unofficial swap (love ya @DonnaD), but I had to chime in say that I think it is important to know a little bit about someone to aid with shopping (I do not want to buy 4,000 green items and find out later that she hates green), but don't think that you need to buy someone a specific list of items--that is no fun at all--I think we all want to get to know each other and have a fun connection with someone else on MUT.  I listed items on my midsummer's list that were out of the price range, but only for color reference, etc.--if you are worried that it will look like you are asking for something out of the price range, you can always make a note about liking these colors and are not asking for these specific products.   Information can be very useful,and I have found some cool items for my ladies by stalking them and looking at their likes and hobbies, but they are also going to get a little bit of me/my personality too (in addition to the puppy hair that will probably sneak its way onto some of the packing tape--am I the only one who has that issue?).  Have fun with it ladies!


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> I'm not doing summerswap because I already had two with my unofficial swap (love ya @DonnaD), but I had to chime in say that I think it is important to know a little bit about someone to aid with shopping (I do not want to buy 4,000 green items and find out later that she hates green), but don't think that you need to buy someone a specific list of items--that is no fun at all--I think we all want to get to know each other and have a fun connection with someone else on MUT.  I listed items on my midsummer's list that were out of the price range, but only for color reference, etc.--if you are worried that it will look like you are asking for something out of the price range, you can always make a note about liking these colors and are not asking for these specific products.   Information can be very useful,and I have found some cool items for my ladies by stalking them and looking at their likes and hobbies, but they are also going to get a little bit of me/my personality too (in addition to the puppy hair that will probably sneak its way onto some of the packing tape--am I the only one who has that issue?).  Have fun with it ladies!


Pretty much that's exactly what I meant when I was trying to explain how clinical a grocery list of stuff is...I think I failed in my explanation though.

According to @@Jac13, you're going to love what's coming your way!


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Pretty much that's exactly what I meant when I was trying to explain how clinical a grocery list of stuff is...I think I failed in my explanation though.
> 
> According to @@Jac13, you're going to love what's coming your way!


I will adore it!  I am already grinning like a loon!  That is the truly great part--grinning for more than a month just in anticipation!  Worth so much more than money to me!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 3, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> I'm not doing summerswap because I already had two with my unofficial swap (love ya @DonnaD), but I had to chime in say that I think it is important to know a little bit about someone to aid with shopping (I do not want to buy 4,000 green items and find out later that she hates green), but don't think that you need to buy someone a specific list of items--that is no fun at all--I think we all want to get to know each other and have a fun connection with someone else on MUT.  I listed items on my midsummer's list that were out of the price range, but only for color reference, etc.--if you are worried that it will look like you are asking for something out of the price range, you can always make a note about liking these colors and are not asking for these specific products.   Information can be very useful,and I have found some cool items for my ladies by stalking them and looking at their likes and hobbies, but they are also going to get a little bit of me/my personality too *(in addition to the puppy hair that will probably sneak its way onto some of the packing tape--am I the only one who has that issue?).*  Have fun with it ladies!


Lol, nope, but it's more so my hair that's the problem!  My puppy has super short hair and doesn't shed much but I should be bald by now.  Actually just this morning I was packing up a swap package and my hair got stuck in the tape (while attached to my head).


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## meaganola (Jun 3, 2014)

My big fear is seeing someone with a general likes list but not a specific-items list who loves, say, magenta, so I buy four magentas, and then it turns out she already has every single one. With specific items, I know that she won't have those items already.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 3, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Lol, nope, but it's more so my hair that's the problem!  My puppy has super short hair and doesn't shed much but I should be bald by now.  Actually just this morning I was packing up a swap package and my hair got stuck in the tape (while attached to my head).


I literally just busted out laughing in the middle of work with that one!  Too funny!  I have had a dog attacked by the tape gun, and then tape gun/dog fight happen, but I have never caught myself!  :rotfl:


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## tulosai (Jun 3, 2014)

meaganola said:


> My big fear is seeing someone with a general likes list but not a specific-items list who loves, say, magenta, so I buy four magentas, and then it turns out she already has every single one. With specific items, I know that she won't have those items already.


In all honesty, while I agree this is not ideal, I do think that most ladies here would be 100% okay with receiving a dupe, especially of a product they really like- I know I would. It can be nice to have a backup, and if not, it can be nice to have something awesome for the trade list.  I know TOTALLY that we'd all probably rather our gifts to our swap partners don't go to the tradelist,b ut really, if they do, I think that is okay as it can help them get something they truly do love!


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## Christa W (Jun 3, 2014)

Just wanted to add that there are some ppl participating that can only adhere to the $25 budget. I never included shipping in mine since I bought almost all my stuff online and then had to send to Canada for my SS but I almost felt terrible because I felt like after seeing how much other people spent that my giftee would feel bad she don't get as much as others. I don't think anyone would act like that but I personally can't go much over that this summer and I don't want my person to feel bad


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## rachelshine (Jun 3, 2014)

I am having such good self control lately (lol, okay fine the last 4/5 days) with not buying anything until I get my swap partner! I want to have as much $$ / wiggle room as possible to get the best things evaaaar! 

As for specific items/higher priced items, I can see it both ways. 1) either I splurge if it's something awesome that falls within budget or can use points/swap for and then fill the rest of the package with things I already have or non-beauty related OR 2) find amazing indie dupes that usually cost less  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

Seriously tho, NEXT WEEK HURRY UP!! I can't wait to see who I get matched with to start stalking the hell out you and plotting my gift.


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## wadedl (Jun 3, 2014)

So excited for this! I better get started on my wish list. Been busy with my kids last week of school. Friday is my son's 6th grade graduation and it feels like there are extra last minute events at their school


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## sstich79 (Jun 3, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Just wanted to add that there are some ppl participating that can only adhere to the $25 budget. I never included shipping in mine since I bought almost all my stuff online and then had to send to Canada for my SS but I almost felt terrible because I felt like after seeing how much other people spent that my giftee would feel bad she don't get as much as others. I don't think anyone would act like that but I personally can't go much over that this summer and I don't want my person to feel bad


I know what you mean, Christa... I about fell over when I saw the first set of reveal photos in the Midsummer reveal thread! I know the gifter said she'd shopped her stash a lot, but that package would have an absolutely INSANE price tag if added all up, and I found it pretty intimidating. I can afford to go over budget some, and I'm sure I'll wind up doing it just because I'm looking forward to stalking and plotting, but nobody should have to feel bad because they can't go bananas on this!


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## tulosai (Jun 3, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> I know what you mean, Christa... I about fell over when I saw the first set of reveal photos in the Midsummer reveal thread! I know the gifter said she'd shopped her stash a lot, but that package would have an absolutely INSANE price tag if added all up, and I found it pretty intimidating. I can afford to go over budget some, and I'm sure I'll wind up doing it just because I'm looking forward to stalking and plotting, but nobody should have to feel bad because they can't go bananas on this!


Don't feel that way.   While in all reality most people's gifts added up do go way over the limit, I truly do believe that no one signs up expecting anything worth over $25, and everyone who signs up is delighted to get something worth just $25 as long as it's thoughtful. While of course it's nice if you or your buddy can splurge a bit or has an amazing stash I think we are all in it to get to know one another better, to have fun, and to try to surprise someone with something genuinely thoughtful regardless of 'worth' of the gift.


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## sstich79 (Jun 3, 2014)

tulosai said:


> Don't feel that way.   While in all reality most people's gifts added up do go way over the limit, I truly do believe that no one signs up expecting anything worth over $25, and everyone who signs up is delighted to get something worth just $25 as long as it's thoughtful. While of course it's nice if you or your buddy can splurge a bit or has an amazing stash I think we are all in it to get to know one another better, to have fun, and to try to surprise someone with something genuinely thoughtful regardless of 'worth' of the gift.


Indeed, the process is already seeming like I might enjoy it more than the actual package I wind up getting!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> (Not that I won't love your gift, gift-giving person!) And luckily my formerly-tiny stash has grown recently, so hopefully I'll be able to raid it for some goodies. Bring on the names!


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## rachelshine (Jun 3, 2014)

:lol:   :lol: I just added a spiel about the glorious queen of my life, Stevie Nicks in my swap info.


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## tweakabell (Jun 3, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> I know what you mean, Christa... I about fell over when I saw the first set of reveal photos in the Midsummer reveal thread! I know the gifter said she'd shopped her stash a lot, but that package would have an absolutely INSANE price tag if added all up, and I found it pretty intimidating. I can afford to go over budget some, and I'm sure I'll wind up doing it just because I'm looking forward to stalking and plotting, but nobody should have to feel bad because they can't go bananas on this!


That's nothing. I don't have Birchbox points/gift cards/paypal to use. The total spent on things specifically for my FGC was less than $30 not including lifestyle extras. We have fought and lost a battle for a tiered Santa with the majority saying they don't want it, they'd rather we all be in one group and deal with the "MIchaels". This time I got to be a Michael, thanks to the crazy stash I have.


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## DonnaD (Jun 3, 2014)

Tweakabell said:


> That's nothing. I don't have Birchbox points/gift cards/paypal to use. The total spent on things specifically for my FGC was less than $30 not including lifestyle extras. We have fought and lost a battle for a tiered Santa with the majority saying they don't want it, they'd rather we all be in one group and deal with the "MIchaels". This time I got to be a Michael, thanks to the crazy stash I have.


What's a Michael?


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## chelsealady (Jun 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> What's a Michael?


Based on a tv character, don't remember which show. You know the type of person who always goes over on gifts when there are limits. I think in the episode he got everybody in the office an iPod when every body else was giving starbucks cards or something similar.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 3, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> Based on a tv character, don't remember which show. You know the type of person who always goes over on gifts when there are limits. I think in the episode he got everybody in the office an iPod when every body else was giving starbucks cards or something similar.


It's from The Office tv show.


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## chelsealady (Jun 3, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> It's from The Office tv show.


Thanks I kept thinking it was Community. I just started to watch it on Netflix so I was getting it confused in my head.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> Based on a tv character, don't remember which show. You know the type of person who always goes over on gifts when there are limits. I think in the episode he got everybody in the office an iPod when every body else was giving starbucks cards or something similar.


I like to think that bringing up the "Michael" characteristic is one of my great MUT contributions  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## tweakabell (Jun 3, 2014)

Yes, I think it will stick in the secret Santa thread forever. Your legacy! Lmao


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## CurlyTails (Jun 3, 2014)

All of the talk of hobbies earlier on this thread has put me in the mood for crafting. I think I'll try my hand at crocheting. My friend is having a baby in the fall, so maybe I'd be able to make a baby blanket. Or at least a washcloth.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 3, 2014)

[bold] NOTE : if anyone has any special concerns to be considered in terms of matching, please PM @@Babs28 as she will be handling the assignments. Also, if you got a PM from me about your address, please respond! [/bold]


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## Jac13 (Jun 3, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> I will adore it!  I am already grinning like a loon!  That is the truly great part--grinning for more than a month just in anticipation!  Worth so much more than money to money to me.
> @@puppymomofthree I am so excited for you to receive your gifts. I think it's soooo sweet. Please reveal on both boards. @@DonnaD you are truly thoughtful. I am sure whomever you are assigned to will be one lucky lady. Mèreadesso has a really nice skin product and moisturizer. I think you may be able to get samples.


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## Jac13 (Jun 3, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> I will adore it!  I am already grinning like a loon!  That is the truly great part--grinning for more than a month just in anticipation!  Worth so much more than money to money to me.
> @@puppymomofthree I am so excited for you to receive your gifts. I think it's soooo sweet. Please reveal on both boards. @@DonnaD you are truly thoughtful. I am sure whomever you are assigned to will be one lucky lady. Mèreadesso has a really nice skin product and moisturizer. I think you may be able to get samples.


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## Jac13 (Jun 3, 2014)

Tweakabell said:


> Yes, I think it will stick in the secret Santa thread forever. Your legacy! Lmao


Aaaahhh... Michaels make things more interesting and exciting. It's like you hit the lottery, lol. Sorry for the above double post. My computer blinked off.


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## Jac13 (Jun 3, 2014)

curlytails said:


> All of the talk of hobbies earlier on this thread has put me in the mood for crafting. I think I'll try my hand at crocheting. My friend is having a baby in the fall, so maybe I'd be able to make a baby blanket. Or at least a washcloth.


You can always try to stitch a newborn cap. Someone once told me they were relatively easy. I never tried so I don't know. Just a suggestion. Some craft and fabric stores offer lessons. I think I may look into that.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 3, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> You can always try to stitch a newborn cap. Someone once told me they were relatively easy. I never tried so I don't know. Just a suggestion. Some craft and fabric stores offer lessons. I think I may look into that.


I'll look into that!


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## chelsealady (Jun 3, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> puppymomofthree said:
> 
> 
> > I will adore it! I am already grinning like a loon! That is the truly great part--grinning for more than a month just in anticipation! Worth so much more than money to money to me.
> ...


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## jesemiaud (Jun 3, 2014)

Well somehow, I couldn't find this thread and ta-da...found it today! I was several pages behind, but now I'm caught up and I've made sure to follow it, so I'll know where it is.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Looking very much forward to finding out who my giftee is. I've already started shopping my stash in hopes I'll have some things pulled that will match her personality/loves.

As far as shipping/reveals, I will be traveling for two weeks in July for work. I will probably attempt to have my gift sent when before I leave, and hopefully my gifter can put off sending mine until very late in July. I will have limited access to the boards when I'm gone, but will do my very best to stay in the loop.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jun 3, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> Well somehow, I couldn't find this thread and ta-da...found it today! I was several pages behind, but now I'm caught up and I've made sure to follow it, so I'll know where it is.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> Looking very much forward to finding out who my giftee is. I've already started shopping my stash in hopes I'll have some things pulled that will match her personality/loves.
> 
> As far as shipping/reveals, I will be traveling for two weeks in July for work. I will probably attempt to have my gift sent when before I leave, and hopefully my gifter can put off sending mine until very late in July. I will have limited access to the boards when I'm gone, but will do my very best to stay in the loop.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


The Summerswap gift reveal starts July 27th and everyone should have their gift by August 8th. So if you will be back from traveling in time to send your package to arrive within that time frame, I would suggest waiting until you get back to send your package.  It'll be more fun for everyone if we are all waiting together, shopping "together", receiving our packages around the same time, etc..


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## meaganola (Jun 4, 2014)

I finally figured out why the term "Summerswap" rang a very faint bell for me:  

http://www.summerstar.org

My aunt used to go to it every summer until it went on hiatus.


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## Jac13 (Jun 4, 2014)

@@Babs28 thanks for the clarification. I thought shipping was the first of July.


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## Babs28 (Jun 4, 2014)

Just a reminder, following is the Summerswap 2014 schedule for shopping and gift reveal:

*May 20 - June 2 : sign ups (in the sign up thread) &amp; simple questionaire fill out*
*June 9 - 13 : SUMMERSWAP buddy information sent out **(do you like how I snuck two weeks in here too get the assignments out?**  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />** * Don't worry, it won't take me that long (I hope not anyway!!).  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  They'll be out next week!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> )
*June 14 - July 26: Stalking and shopping for your new SUMMERSWAP buddy*
*July 27 - Aug 8 : send out gifts; reveals posted  :w00t: ** *


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## Babs28 (Jun 4, 2014)

Question time!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

You are given the opportunity to go on your dream vacation. :drive:   Cost (no matter how exorbitant), length of trip and childcare (if you didn't want to take your child(ren) with you - no parent guilt :wizard:  if you decided to go sans children) are all taken care of, where would you go?  :sunshine: :glasses:  What would you do while there?  Why would you go there? Who would you go with?


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## Dashery (Jun 4, 2014)

Istanbul! But I don't know who I'd bring with me...


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## tweakabell (Jun 4, 2014)

Not Constantinople? :lol:

So if you've a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul


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## trekkersangel (Jun 4, 2014)

Disneyland will always be my #1 answer. I'd go with or without my kids. I've gone alone, just with my hubby, &amp; I've taken all 6 of my little kiddos with me too. I love it every time!

Second choice would be Paris. Being military we lived in Europe for 4 years &amp; we fell in love with it. We lived 3.5 hours from Paris &amp; went every few months. But there was one time when we were able to leave the kids with my parents &amp; I remember that night walking the streets of Paris (all those beautiful lights). We danced in the rain under the Eiffel Tower. It really was a magical night &amp; I'd love to re-live it!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 4, 2014)

Turks and Caicos for the super unique beaches or Australia to pet a kangaroo! With the BFF because girls vacations are always better than couples vacations lol


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## sstich79 (Jun 4, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Istanbul! But I don't know who I'd bring with me...


My high school best friend just finished a three-year stint living in Istanbul for her husband's job... and I'm so mad at myself for never getting over there to visit her! But they're moving to Spain now, and I will DEFINITELY make it there.

My #1 dream destination, though, is Greece. My mom raised me on Greek myths instead of fairy tales, so I've always dreamed of going there. I'll probably need a good solid month, though, to cover all the ground I want to cover! And honestly, if not for the fact that I'm scared of traveling in a foreign country alone, I would TOTALLY go by myself.


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## button6004 (Jun 4, 2014)

My dream vacation would be a tour of Greece and Italy.  Eat all of the amazing food, drink wine, see the history and colors and sights.

BUT when it actually came down to planning a vacation, I would probably just want a trip where I did practically nothing the whole time, in which case I would want to go back to Antigua, which is where I honeymooned.  Yummy food, pretty beach, lots of sun and sand and napping.


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## jennm149 (Jun 4, 2014)

Right now, I think that the place I'd most like to go is South Africa.

Africa is the only continent I haven't visited, so it knocks off a "lifelist" item. The South Africans I've met while travelling are terrific people and their love of their home country has really made me interested in visiting there. The history of the place (I was in college during the push for disinvestment as a way to end apartheid in the country, and it would be amazing to visit some of the sites related to Mandela and the change there), the diversity of geography and wildlife (see penguins today, visit a vineyard tomorrow and be on safari the day after that!) is astonishing.

But I'm pretty much with travelling the way I am with nail polish: I can't think of many places I wouldn't want to visit.

ETA: @@Lolo22 -- petting a kangaroo is an excellent travel goal!


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## Jac13 (Jun 4, 2014)

I would take the family to Singapore.  I have several friends who have visited.  The pictures and stories I have heard and seen are amazing.  I love the blending of the old and new architect.  It is a thriving cosmopolitian city.  I would love to visit their Night Festival (i love festivals), Chingay parage, Gardens by the Bay just to name a few.  Also it is one of the cleanest cities.  You get fine for throwing gum.  Of course we would also visit Universal Studios there.  So when am I going?  I don't know.  We are taking a trip to Spain next year for my daughter's graduation.  This is only because she is in an immersion school.  I have never been and I am looking forward to it but it doesn't outway Singapore.


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## Kelli (Jun 4, 2014)

I've been lucky enough to travel to some great places in Europe, but I'd still love to go on a huge European vacaction to visit the places I haven't been.

Greece is the tops of my list, I've just always been enamored with it! I loved studying mythology in middle school and I'm a history nerd and just love how much contribution to the world came from the area (plus the yummy food lol). I'd then want to spend a bit of time in Poland. Love the architecture and the history. It would be a nice contrast to the bit of fun in the sun of Greece. Then I'd want to visit Finland. I had a very major love affair with bands from Finland back in the day (HIM! The 69 Eyes! The Rasmus! Apocalyptica!) and it made me want to go there SO bad! Even though I don't listen to that music as much anymore (I still listen to Apocalyptica a bunch, because how could I not like a dark rock band that uses cellos instead of guitars?!?!), I am still fascinated with the country. Then I would head to the UK and make sure to check out England and Ireland.

If I were to just go to one place, and didn't have to worry about the violence and political issues going on, my absolute top choice would be Egypt! Again, I'm a history nerd and Ancient Egypt was my favorite place to study. It's just so incredibly fascinating! If I were to make a bucket list, seeing the pyramids with my very own eyes, would probably be at the top of the list.


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## Jac13 (Jun 4, 2014)

button6004 said:


> My dream vacation would be a tour of Greece and Italy.  Eat all of the amazing food, drink wine, see the history and colors and sights.
> 
> BUT when it actually came down to planning a vacation, I would probably just want a trip where I did practically nothing the whole time, in which case I would want to go back to Antigua, which is where I honeymooned.  Yummy food, pretty beach, lots of sun and sand and napping.
> 
> I have been blessed to visit both Greece and Italy.  Their are many beautiful beaches in both location and the food and culture are both phenomenal.  I haven't vist Antigua but I have heard good things about it.


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## msambrosia (Jun 4, 2014)

I have several dream vacations that I'd love to take, some more feasible than others. I've wanted to visit Germany since high school. I had a family member stationed there when I was in college, but just didn't have the money for the trip. I'm really interested in history and there are a bunch of sites in Germany I'd like to see. I've also always wanted to go to Italy and Vatican City. I have an odd fascination with Catholicism.

I've also always really wanted to go to Maine. It just looks so beautiful in pictures and I would love to visit a lighthouse. An Alaskan cruise is also on my dream vacation agenda.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 4, 2014)

There are so many places I would love to go to that it's so hard to choose. The only place I've been to outside of the U.S. is Canada. I guess at the top of my list would be to cruise Greece and add Italy in there somewhere. I'd love to go with my hubby, but he's not a fan of water so I'm not sure that I could get him on a ship.


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## SaraP (Jun 4, 2014)

Super laid-back vacation wish would be the French Polynesian Islands. I would probably never leave and would revert to my old beach bum ways.

Or

Action packed vacation wish would be an Africa Safari with a really nice camera and a endless memory card.

I'd take the whole family, I love doing everything with them.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 4, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> ETA: @@Lolo22 -- petting a kangaroo is an excellent travel goal!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ahhhhhhhhh, sooooo cool!!!!!  Kangaroos are awesome.  African penguins would be so cool too!

I held a huge sting ray while scuba diving in Mexico but yeah, not fuzzy and adorable.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 4, 2014)

There's a ton of places in the US I would like to visit but for a dream vacation (which I do think is doable!) my boyfriend and I want to go to Vietnam or Thailand or Japan. Japan because we think it would be fun and a really awesome city experience in Tokyo. Vietnam or Thailand because his sister is there right now and it seems SO cool - fun out doors things, fun resort type places, cheap shopping, great food!


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## rachelshine (Jun 4, 2014)

God, such a good question!! Now, I want to go everywhere that everyone else mentioned too  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I absolutely want to go back to Paris. I adored the 4 days I spent there and I want to go back and also explore the countryside. It's got wine, cheese, delicious food, incredible art, the history, architecture, beautiful people, red lips, fashion, FRENCH MEN. YAAAAS. 

I'd also love love love to go to Thailand. I want to not only ride an elephant (I mean who doesn't), but also explore their gorgeous beaches, volunteer in orphanages, live like a queen because it's relatively inexpensive there, and also eat everything in site.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 4, 2014)

Japan or Italy! Right now those are the two places boyfriend and I said we have to visit. He spent a month in Europe (without me!) so he wants to take me back to Italy because he knows I'd love it. And we've both always wanted to go to Japan. And then he would have no excuse not to try sushi anymore, since he said he'll try the authentic stuff!


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## sstich79 (Jun 4, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> I've also always really wanted to go to Maine. It just looks so beautiful in pictures and I would love to visit a lighthouse. An Alaskan cruise is also on my dream vacation agenda.


Ooh, I'll go with you! I've also been dying to go to Maine (New England in general, really) and see beautiful northeastern lighthouses and eat freshly-caught lobsters and pick blueberries and then buy a lighthouse and live in a lighthouse and hug it and it shall be my squishy and I may have just gotten carried away a bit.

If expense was not an issue, I'd actually love to plan a series of tours just to see lighthouses... boat around the Great Lakes to see some there... helicopter tours of the reef lighthouses in Florida... a trip back to the Outer Banks to see the first lighthouse I ever laid eyes on.

ETA: Hey, @@msambrosia, just noticed that you've got yourself listed in the Bluegrass. Me too!


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## BSquared (Jun 4, 2014)

Oh gosh, I want to go everywhere!!! I've only been to the US, Canada, and the Carribbean so I need to get out more.

I really want to go to Austrailia. I want to go to Italy. I want to go to England REALLY bad. I want to go to Greece. My ultimate goal would to be a European cruise as I looveee cruises and you can see a bunch of places at once.

Fiji is my ultimate dream. I told my husband we're going for our 15th anniversary if it means we have to live off Ramen for 5 years to make it happen. That's still 13 years away though so I have time  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 4, 2014)

I've always wanted to go to rome. The achitecture, food &amp; culture are something that I've wanted to experience first hand since I was little. I would also like to go to jamaica, antigua, or maybe even puerto rico for the scenery &amp; clean beaches!


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## lastnite629 (Jun 4, 2014)

Hi everyone! I signed up for this swap, but haven't participated in this discussion yet. Bad, Nikki.

This is my first swap on MUT. I'm really excited!  My plan for this evening is to read over this thread and make my swap list.


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## DonnaD (Jun 4, 2014)

I have been to lots of places but never to England.  I think I'd go there.  I've been to Scotland and Ireland but just never made it to England proper.

By the by, my favourite places in the world are Edinburgh and Tuscany.  My goal is to move to the South Western coast of Italy when we finally retire.


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## emilylithium (Jun 4, 2014)

I really want to go to Morocco, especially after learning all about north africa in my classes. it it mysterious, and i can't wait to shop in the markets!


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## ashleylind (Jun 4, 2014)

This is tough! I'm going to say Easter Island, because I find historial art mysteries like those statues completely fascinating. So I'd get culture and beach time in one! Plus, flights out there are completely ridiculous, and I can't see myself ever spending that amount on airfare alone.


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## kawaiisofoxy (Jun 4, 2014)

OK, I'm totally answering the dream vaca question, even though I'm not even doing SummerSwap.  (Please don't kick me out, lol.)

Money is no object, and I can leave the kids behind? Sweet. First I'll take the hubs on a tour of Europe.  Hit up Scotland, Ireland, and England first, then Paris. Then on to Rome, tour the Tuscan countryside, hit up a Mediterranean beach.  Shake ourselves off with a quick weekend in Moscow, then onto Asia.  Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo, and a longer stretch in Hong Kong (I spent 10 days there with a friend about a decade ago, best time EVER).  Finish it up with a tour of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, and end up for a few weeks in Bali.

Then we'll go pick up the kids (sigh, I guess   ) and head to Africa for a safari - but then several weeks of volunteering in refugee camps.  I want my kids to see all aspects of life, and instill in them a need to be a positive force in the world.  Then we'll head to South America and do the same thing.  We'll work our way south to the wilds of Patagonia to give my hubs the extreme camping experience he has always wanted (and I'll try to keep my complaining to a minimum.  Occasional breaks for a shower and nice meal will be necessary).  Then we'll take a quick foray to Antarctica, hang out with some penguins, visit a science station, and head to Australia.  We'll dodge the venomous spiders and snakes, take in Sydney, visit the outback (not the steakhouse).

Ok, so that's all 7 continents.  Obviously, we need a vacation from our vacation.  Disney Cruise, anyone?

(ETA:  Almost forgot.  I have to visit the Federated States of Micronesia at some point, because I represented them in a Model UN one time and fell in love)


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## jennm149 (Jun 4, 2014)

@@rachelshine -- riding elephants in Thailand = another excellent travel goal!

These posts are making me nostalgic and giving me inspiration at the same time.


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## Kelli (Jun 4, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Ooh, I'll go with you! I've also been dying to go to Maine (New England in general, really) and see beautiful northeastern lighthouses and eat freshly-caught lobsters and pick blueberries and then buy a lighthouse and live in a lighthouse and hug it and it shall be my squishy and I may have just gotten carried away a bit.
> 
> If expense was not an issue, I'd actually love to plan a series of tours just to see lighthouses... boat around the Great Lakes to see some there... helicopter tours of the reef lighthouses in Florida... a trip back to the Outer Banks to see the first lighthouse I ever laid eyes on.
> 
> ETA: Hey, @@msambrosia, just noticed that you've got yourself listed in the Bluegrass. Me too!


I'm near the Lake Michigan side of MI and there are some great lighthouses! We usually go a couple times a summer or fall (so pretty then, with the colored leaves and all). The closest ones are about 45 minutes away from me, but they are tiny ones, the big cool ones, like the really tall striped ones, the closest is about 2 hours.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 4, 2014)

Where would I go on my dream vacation? Ireland &amp; England.  My ancestors are from both countries and I would love to walk in their footsteps, so to speak.


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## BSquared (Jun 4, 2014)

This thread is turning into good no buy support. Screw makeup, I want to go on vacation!!!


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## chelsealady (Jun 4, 2014)

If I could I would do London, and Rome.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 4, 2014)

I've always wanted to go to Greece. I've always loved Greek mythology, and I think it would be nice to do a little history sight-seeing and spend the rest of my time looking out at pristine blue waters.

Domestically, I'd love to do a foodie tour of Charleston.


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## msambrosia (Jun 4, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Ooh, I'll go with you! I've also been dying to go to Maine (New England in general, really) and see beautiful northeastern lighthouses and eat freshly-caught lobsters and pick blueberries and then buy a lighthouse and live in a lighthouse and hug it and it shall be my squishy and I may have just gotten carried away a bit.
> 
> If expense was not an issue, I'd actually love to plan a series of tours just to see lighthouses... boat around the Great Lakes to see some there... helicopter tours of the reef lighthouses in Florida... a trip back to the Outer Banks to see the first lighthouse I ever laid eyes on.
> 
> ETA: Hey, @@msambrosia, just noticed that you've got yourself listed in the Bluegrass. Me too!


Road trip?   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I would love to go to one of those places where you can rent the lighthouse and stay inside it. I feel like that would be such a unique experience. Eating freshly-caught lobsters would be pretty amazing, too.


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## valeried44 (Jun 4, 2014)

Just yesterday I was looking at Google Earth and noticed how beautiful the water is around the Bahamas.  I'm not usually into tropical temps, but I could totally see myself lounging in the breeze, looking out at the ocean with a fruity drink in my hand.  I think if I went someplace like that, I'd probably stay forever.


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## tulosai (Jun 4, 2014)

This convo is right up my alley because I LURVE travel but it's really difficult because I don't think I can pick just one place.

I'd love to go back to Croatia and Paris and Budapest and Florence and Venice.  I'd love to see Greece for the first time (like a lot of you!) and am also really interested in Japan! Stateside, I agree with the ladies who would love to see Maine and lighthouses. Also Vermont! Mostly though I just want to go everywhere all the time!


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## LolaJay (Jun 4, 2014)

Umm can someone take me to Bora Bora please!?!? That's where I want to go!!!

Or I would settle for Jamaica again - I absolutely loved it there.

I really just want to go to Washington DC again, because of my weird presidential obsession  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I know, I'm boring!!


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## SaraP (Jun 4, 2014)

@@LolaJay Take me with you, those all sound great!


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## Babs28 (Jun 4, 2014)

My dream vacation would start out with me and my son touring to the Galapagos islands (I have to assuage my mommy guilt), snorkelling and wandering around several of the big islands and two small islands.   Being able to see all of the endemic iguanas, marine iguanas, turtles, etc., would be AMAZING!

Then I would drop Z off and pick up a girlfriend or two (because I agree, it is way more fun to travel with girlfriends for certain types of trips) and I would head to my awaiting yatch to cruise the Eastern and Western Carribean and tour all the islands. I'd want to stay on Dominica for several days. I'd then fly to the Maldive Islands to stay in my hut over the water.

Once I got sick of all the sun and surf and no longer needed to be in a bathing suit  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> , I'd drop my friends off and pick up my boyfriend, Kevin, and do a culinary world tour.  I would eat at the 50 best restaurants/places to eat (they aren't all restaurants) in the world. (I did say this way a DREAM vacation and money was no object, apparently neither is time!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ).
OK, now that my brief dreaming is over, back to working on Swap Buddy assignments!!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## cobainrls (Jun 4, 2014)

I would like to go to a beach. I grew up near the beach and now live in a land lock state(Oklahoma). I also want to visit Ireland. It is so pretty and I have a penpal from there and she talks about it some. I have wanted to go to Ireland since I was a teenager.


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## cobainrls (Jun 4, 2014)

I would also just like to hop into an RV and travel around the US. I think that would be really fun!


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## BSquared (Jun 4, 2014)

I've always said when I retire I'm just going to buy an RV and drive around the country all summer. My ex-aunt actually does this and loves it!!


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## Babs28 (Jun 4, 2014)

bsquared said:


> I've always said when I retire I'm just going to buy an RV and drive around the country all summer. My ex-aunt actually does this and loves it!!


I'd totally do this on a motorcycle!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 4, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I would also just like to hop into an RV and travel around the US. I think that would be really fun!


My parents did this for a summer! My dad works in the trucking industry (he's an accountant, not a trucker) but their habits definitely rubbed off on him. A few months ago he just upped and drove to Boston from Ohio to visit my younger brother! Crazy!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 4, 2014)

@@LolaJay DC is my favorite place ever. I've had 6 month internships/jobs there a few times now and I love it so much. I'm too intimidated to move there since wages are so low and cost of living is so high!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 4, 2014)

@@Babs28 that sounds like heaven! I'd like to amend my imaginary vacation of beach bummin' and kangaroo petting to add a food tour to the end!


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## Dashery (Jun 4, 2014)

mayra3 said:


> I've always wanted to go to rome. The achitecture, food &amp; culture are something that I've wanted to experience first hand since I was little. I would also like to go to jamaica, antigua, or maybe even puerto rico for the scenery &amp; clean beaches!


I went to Rome a few summer's ago, and it was absolutely breathtaking. Before going to Rome, I had been in Paris, and I remember it was pretty underwhelming. But going into the Colosseum was every bit as awesome as you might think!


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## estefany (Jun 5, 2014)

Dream vacation: Someplace extremely relaxing near a beach.. A vacation without site seeing or museums or stresses only delicious food and fluffy bed  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## elizabethrose (Jun 5, 2014)

Also jumping on this question even though I'm not participating!  I really really want to go to Cuba- I have always found it so so fascinating!  However, realistically, I'm getting to do my "dream" vacation in about a week- going back to North Carolina to visit friends from school, NYC to visit friends, Boston to hang out with my cousin, and HOME for a few days!!  Super excited before my grad school insanity takes hold.

But @@LolaJay, I'm with you, would totally love to go back to DC!  It's been too long!


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## meaganola (Jun 5, 2014)

I've been thinking about this all day, and I can't come up with a real-world present-day answer!  I think the problem for me is that I think in terms of *experiences*, so I would want to go to, say, San Francisco during the summer of 1967, Los Angeles during the mid-'60s, or New York City in the late '70s.  In all three cases, I would want to be twenty-three.


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## dancersmum (Jun 5, 2014)

I love travelling...I'm a pretty lucky gal in that we've been to some amazing places but so much more I want to see and do...first I'd like to follow the snow...Japan, Switzerland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Argentina Canada and the USA...with the family...interspersed with breaks to eat at amazing places (yup one look at me and you know I also love to eat lol)....  We would have to take a few breaks from playing on the snow to revisit Paris &amp; Florence - oh and to have an amazing meal (or 3) in Tokyo...

I love all things snow (except driving in it) and would love to take the opportunity to learn how to take pictures of the snow (as in individual snowflakes - i'm slightly obsessed with and collect christmas decorations from every year that my husband and I have been together in snowflakes).

I know I am odd...but I don't like the heat it would be great to enjoy winter &amp; spring skiing conditions all year long...I'm not a beachy person and think my family will always avoid that type of holiday as we have had so many of them and if we visit my side of the family they live in the heat 365 days a year so I don't feel the need to add more sunshine to our trip.

The only caveat to my dream trip is all 3 of the kids have to be available at least for sections of the trip and that my youngest son be well enough to actually enjoy it.  Last year we went on holiday only to have him on crutches the whole time and it was miserable for everyone.  Also I'd like to be able to eat and eat ANYTHING and never put on an ounce.


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## ashleylind (Jun 5, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> Road trip?   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> I would love to go to one of those places where you can rent the lighthouse and stay inside it. I feel like that would be such a unique experience. Eating freshly-caught lobsters would be pretty amazing, too.


I'll join the lighthouse love club! Staying in one would be amazing. For my 30th birthday, DH and I went to Boston and then Cape Cod/Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard, and visited almost all the lighthouses. I loved every moment of it.


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## LolaJay (Jun 5, 2014)

Yay so many DC lovers! I really love all of the history surrounding the place. Not so much the current politics but everything that has happened there since its beginnings. Preferably in the spring or fall, because I don't like the heat either haha.


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## jennm149 (Jun 5, 2014)

If any of you who love lighthouses ever get a chance to go to Maine -- head to Cape Elizabeth near Portland.  There are twin lighthouses! 

There's also a spot on the beach called The Lobster Shack that -- when we were there about 3 years ago -- had the best lobster rolls and whoopie pies ever!  It's expensive (I think the lobster rolls were like $18 each), but you got pretty much an entire tail worth of meat on the sandwich.  The whoopie pies were better than any we've had out in the Amish country in PA.  It's a real rocky, NE beach, too.  Just lovely.


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## Kelli (Jun 5, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> I'll join the lighthouse love club! Staying in one would be amazing. For my 30th birthday, DH and I went to Boston and then Cape Cod/Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard, and visited almost all the lighthouses. I loved every moment of it.


Cape/Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard stuff always looks sooo beautiful in pictures! I love the pics of the cute houses and lighthouses. Sounds like a great trip you went on!

I haven't traveled much in the US, but even though it's only 4 hours from me, so not real exotic or anything, I LOVE Chicago. I've always loved big cities (small town girl here) and always dreamt of living in Chicago, because it's a huge city, but still has the Midwestern vibe I've grown up on. Plus, pretty much the only time I get to Chicago is for concerts, so I always associate it with the arts &amp; that it's all cultured haha, so it always feels so much cooler than other places  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## marigoldsue (Jun 5, 2014)

Wow, so many of us have Maine on our list.  I would also love to do a California winery trip.  Costa Rica and Aruba are next up on my will go to list.  I also hope to get to Ireland 3 years from now.  My son will be turning 21 then and his name is Jameson.  I think he needs to be at the Jameson distillery on his 21st birthday.  I thought about taking him this summer for his 18th, since the legal drinking age in Ireland is 18, but it is just not going to happen this year.  Probably my dream trip though would be a trip to Italy.  I would love to spend a month or so traveling the smaller towns with a few days in Milan and Rome.


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## rachelshine (Jun 5, 2014)

@@elizabethrose dangit! I was secretly hoping to get you as my person!! 

I second whoever said Galapagos, I want to run around a crazy island and find some new species!


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## elizabethrose (Jun 5, 2014)

@@rachelshine awww dang!  There's always next time  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Couldn't afford two this summer!


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## lastnite629 (Jun 5, 2014)

Add me to the lighthouse love club, too.  I've only seen one lighthouse in person and that was from an airplane so not sure that really counts. haha    For military spouse appreciation day a few years back, Our base in NC took us on a flight in a C-130.  We flew to the Outer Banks and circled around the Cape Hatteras lighthouse a few times.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 5, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Wow, so many of us have Maine on our list.  I would also love to do a California winery trip.  Costa Rica and Aruba are next up on my will go to list.  I also hope to get to Ireland 3 years from now.  My son will be turning 21 then and his name is Jameson.  I think he needs to be at the Jameson distillery on his 21st birthday.  I thought about taking him this summer for his 18th, since the legal drinking age in Ireland is 18, but it is just not going to happen this year.  Probably my dream trip though would be a trip to Italy.  I would love to spend a month or so traveling the smaller towns with a few days in Milan and Rome.


Ooooh California Winery trip, that sounds fun! Napa and Temecula are my favorite, but there's so much good wine here! Napa can be a little overrated sometimes, but Temecula I think is underrated. My favorite winery is in Temecula, South Coast Winery   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 5, 2014)

Today I got up at 3 am to make a 6 am flight, connected from MKE to Orlando then final destination in Nashville... Totally forgot that it's CMA fest. I got a picture with Deacon clayborne / chip on the TV show Nashville. He was on my flight and I didn't notice him til almost the parking lot!!

Then I had a 3 hour interview and booked it back to the airport for a 6 PM flight to Chicago then back to milwaukee... I'm all traveled out for the day


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## valeried44 (Jun 5, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Today I got up at 3 am to make a 6 am flight, connected from MKE to Orlando then final destination in Nashville... Totally forgot that it's CMA fest. I got a picture with Deacon clayborne / chip on the TV show Nashville. He was on my flight and I didn't notice him til almost the parking lot!!
> 
> Then I had a 3 hour interview and booked it back to the airport for a 6 PM flight to Chicago then back to milwaukee... I'm all traveled out for the day


An exciting day!  Hope your interview went well!


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## Babs28 (Jun 5, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Wow, so many of us have Maine on our list.  I would also love to do a California winery trip.  Costa Rica and Aruba are next up on my will go to list.  I also hope to get to Ireland 3 years from now.  My son will be turning 21 then and his name is Jameson.  I think he needs to be at the Jameson distillery on his 21st birthday.  I thought about taking him this summer for his 18th, since the legal drinking age in Ireland is 18, but it is just not going to happen this year.  Probably my dream trip though would be a trip to Italy.  I would love to spend a month or so traveling the smaller towns with a few days in Milan and Rome.


I've been to Maine quite a few times.  An ex-boyfriend's dad had a cabin up there so we went up there a number of times and it was always fun but COLD at night.  I can't stand to be cold. It takes me hours to get warm again.

I have a photo album of all the lighthouses I've ever been to.  I've been to all the ones in NY, NJ, Rhode Island, Maryland, several in Maine, Mass, Florida (both coasts and the Keys), North Carolina, South Carolina, the Outer Banks, Virginia and Conn. Quite a few on the Gulf Coast: Mississippi, Louisiana, and several lighthouses on the Mississippi River when I lived in New Orleans. There are 8 lighthouses that I've seen that no longer exist thanks to hurricane Katrina and Rita  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  and I've seen 3 of the 5 Louisiana Lighthouses on the Lighthouse Digest "Doomsday List" :scared:  . I've seen either 17 or 18 lighthouses (I can't remember exactly now) in California when I lived there and 4 lighthouses on the West Coast of Mexico.  I've also seen the lighthouses at Negril and Lovers' Leap in Jamaica.  I used to have the goal of seeing all the lighthouses in the US until I realized that there were a ton in the Great Lakes and I'm not a fan of lakes. Then I revised my goal to see all the lighthouses on all the coasts of North America and now I'm just lighthoused out I guess after seeing so many and knowing I still have a lot more to see.  The ones that were the most fun were the ones that still had Lighthouse keepers who had been working there their entire lives!!!  They had such interesting stories to tell!


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## bonita22 (Jun 6, 2014)

My dream destination is Spain. I've always been fascinated with their architecture and lifestyle. The hubby promised to take me to Spain on our 10th wedding anniversary. My best friend's partner is from Valencia, he agreed to take us to the all the cool places the locals like to hide from tourists. Next month is our 7th wedding anniversary so only 3 more years to go!

In the United States, I really want to go to Disney World and stay there for a whole week  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jednashley (Jun 6, 2014)

bonita22  Spain sounds fun and gorgeous!  I want to go anywhere in Europe - I am fasinated with the all the different places, history, etc.  Dream trip would be to backpack through Europe  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Jac13 (Jun 6, 2014)

@@bonita22 Disney World is so beautiful during the holidays. It's fun all year round but the holidays are all lit up.


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## Kelli (Jun 6, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> My dream destination is Spain. I've always been fascinated with their architecture and lifestyle. The hubby promised to take me to Spain on our 10th wedding anniversary. My best friend's partner is from Valencia, he agreed to take us to the all the cool places the locals like to hide from tourists. Next month is our 7th wedding anniversary so only 3 more years to go!
> 
> In the United States, I really want to go to Disney World and stay there for a whole week  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I went to Spain when I was in high school and it was amazing! Barcelona was my favorite. It was like a big city and a small town all rolled into one! Las Ramblas was so great. I also went to places like Paris, Rome, Vienna and yet Barcelona was my absolute favorite!


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## bonita22 (Jun 6, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> @@bonita22 Disney World is so beautiful during the holidays. It's fun all year round but the holidays are all lit up.


I've been to Disneyland during the holidays and it's magical. I've been told Disney world is even better. I hope to go there soon  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## bonita22 (Jun 6, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I went to Spain when I was in high school and it was amazing! Barcelona was my favorite. It was like a big city and a small town all rolled into one! Las Ramblas was so great. I also went to places like Paris, Rome, Vienna and yet Barcelona was my absolute favorite!


Paris and Rome are also on my list of places I would love to go. If I was super rich, I would spend most of my time traveling  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jun 6, 2014)

I could live at Disneyland!


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## nikkimouse (Jun 7, 2014)

dream vacation would be to visit all of the disney parks around the world. Cali, Tokyo, Hong Kong, shanghai, Paris,  finished off with a disney cruise and a stay at the the resort in Hawaii.  I would love to spend time in each place too like at least a week or 2 to see more then just disney. I would really love to travel the whole world i want to see and experience so many things.


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## Dashery (Jun 7, 2014)

On a complete change of topic, if anyone wanted to see the completed photos of my Elsa costume, look in the spoiler. I am exhausted, but yesterday was great!



Spoiler



Here they are!

/spoiler]

Also, in regards to Maine, it's awesome! I went cliff jumping there and it was the best!


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## dancersmum (Jun 7, 2014)

@@Dashery - I don't see the photos...I wanna see!!!!!


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## tulosai (Jun 7, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@Dashery - I don't see the photos...I wanna see!!!!!


Same!!!


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## Babs28 (Jun 7, 2014)

@@Dashery I don't see them either!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

On a completely separate note from that, we live less than 10 miles from each other!! I live in Great Meadows (just west of Hackettstown).


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## wadedl (Jun 7, 2014)

With all this vacation talk I would love to got to New York, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and maybe a few places in between. I have only been as far as San Francisco to the north and Dallas to the East. I have been as far as Ensenada and Sonora in Mexico.

I do want to go back to Santa Fe without kids, it was so magical when we were there and it started lightly snowing! Ojai seems like it would be nice and relaxing to go back to without kids too. Drove through there on the way back from Santa Barbara. Also definitely will be going back to Sedona.

My favorite winery in Temecula was Monte De Oro.


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## DonnaD (Jun 7, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @@Dashery I don't see them either!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> On a completely separate note from that, we live less than 10 miles from each other!! I live in Great Meadows (just west of Hackettstown).


I used to live in Budd Lake.  Small world.


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## Dashery (Jun 7, 2014)

Sorry. I edited the first post. I'm not sure what happened....  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jun 7, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I used to live in Budd Lake.  Small world.


No, kidding?  Yeah, really small world!!  Where you born and raised in NJ? @@DonnaD


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## Babs28 (Jun 7, 2014)

Dashery said:


> On a complete change of topic, if anyone wanted to see the completed photos of my Elsa costume, look in the spoiler. I am exhausted, but yesterday was great!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## DonnaD (Jun 7, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> No, kidding?  Yeah, really small world!!  Where you born and raised in NJ? @@DonnaD


No, I was born in Newfoundland.  We lived in NJ in the late 90's for a few years.


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## jennm149 (Jun 7, 2014)

Shout out to the NW NJ ladies.  I work in Oldwick and live near Washington (Warren Co.)

@@Dashery -- that costume is gorgeous!


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## Babs28 (Jun 7, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> Shout out to the NW NJ ladies.  I work in Oldwick and live near Washington (Warren Co.)
> 
> @@Dashery -- that costume is gorgeous!


I know where you are!!  You are about 30 minutes from me!!  MUT Meetup ladies? @[email protected]


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## jennm149 (Jun 7, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> I know where you are!!  You are about 30 minutes from me!!  MUT Meetup ladies? @[email protected]


We should have a Summerswap opening party!  How fun would that be?


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## Dashery (Jun 7, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> We should have a Summerswap opening party!  How fun would that be?


That actually sounds pretty fun!



Babs28 said:


> Now I see them!!!!!  Wow!! You made that all by HAND? I'm super impressed. You look amazing and nearly unrecognizable!!!!
> 
> Can I add "Princess Costume" to my Summerswap Wishlist in case you are my Buddy?  We live really close, I could drive right over for fittings!  lol   :w00t:


Thank you, thank you! I wish I could make a princess dress in a few weeks! That'd actually be pretty fun,



jennm149 said:


> Shout out to the NW NJ ladies.  I work in Oldwick and live near Washington (Warren Co.)
> 
> @@Dashery -- that costume is gorgeous!


Thank you!



Babs28 said:


> I know where you are!!  You are about 30 minutes from me!!  MUT Meetup ladies? @[email protected]


Sounds fun!


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## nikkimouse (Jun 8, 2014)

Sadly I needed to back out of this exchange  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> the hubby lost his job and money is just too tight to really do my person justice. I'm still following along to see all the pretties you guys give each other!!!


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## tweakabell (Jun 8, 2014)

Sorry to hear it, seems like we've all hit a bad news front lately.


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## dancersmum (Jun 8, 2014)

@@Dashery -  :w00t: thats an amazing transformation - you have some mad skills!

@@nikkimouse - I'm so sorry to hear that bad news...hope things get better soon.


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## bonita22 (Jun 8, 2014)

nikkimouse said:


> Sadly I needed to back out of this exchange  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> the hubby lost his job and money is just too tight to really do my person justice. I'm still following along to see all the pretties you guys give each other!!!


Sorry to hear this. Hopefully your hubby can find a job soon.


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## Dashery (Jun 8, 2014)

@@nikkimouse Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope thing work out okay!  :hugs3:

@dancersmom Thank you!  :wub:


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## chelsealady (Jun 8, 2014)

nikkimouse said:


> Sadly I needed to back out of this exchange  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> the hubby lost his job and money is just too tight to really do my person justice. I'm still following along to see all the pretties you guys give each other!!!


Sorry to hear that.

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” –Alexander Graham Bell


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## tulosai (Jun 8, 2014)

Oh my I am so sorry to hear that @@nikkimouse

Vibes that he will find something else quickly.


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## sstich79 (Jun 8, 2014)

nikkimouse said:


> Sadly I needed to back out of this exchange  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> the hubby lost his job and money is just too tight to really do my person justice. I'm still following along to see all the pretties you guys give each other!!!


Oh, @@nikkimouse, I'm so sorry. I hope that there's a silver lining and this leads to an amazing new opportunity for him! (Not that it helps you right now, but getting laid off from my long-time job a few years ago was the absolute best thing that could have happened to me, because it spurred me to finally make the decision to go back to school for a second degree, and now I'm much happier in my new career.)


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## Babs28 (Jun 8, 2014)

nikkimouse said:


> Sadly I needed to back out of this exchange  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> the hubby lost his job and money is just too tight to really do my person justice. I'm still following along to see all the pretties you guys give each other!!!


Please keep participating in this thread. You are a joy to have around.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 8, 2014)

nikkimouse said:


> Sadly I needed to back out of this exchange  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> the hubby lost his job and money is just too tight to really do my person justice. I'm still following along to see all the pretties you guys give each other!!!


So sorry to hear this @@nikkimouse!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## valeried44 (Jun 8, 2014)

@@nikkimouse  I'm sorry to hear that.  I'm sending good thoughts and hoping he'll find something soon.  I'm glad you'll be hanging out around here though!


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## nikkimouse (Jun 8, 2014)

thank you all for your kind words and support.  this is why i love MUT girls (and boys)  you guys are awesome and supportive.


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## heath67013 (Jun 8, 2014)

nikkimouse said:


> Sadly I needed to back out of this exchange  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> the hubby lost his job and money is just too tight to really do my person justice. I'm still following along to see all the pretties you guys give each other!!!


I hope things turn around quickly for you! That's never a fun circumstance to be in.


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## BSquared (Jun 8, 2014)

@@Dashery so pretty!!!! I'm so impressed!!

@@nikkimouse I'm so sorry!! I hope something good comes along soon for you guys!


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## Jac13 (Jun 9, 2014)

@@nikkimouse sorry to hear about your husband. Remember rain comes before the blooms. I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mines was crummy but I want go into that. I hope we get our summerwap buddy. It would be a nice distraught. I have several premiere screening this week and I am looking forward to that. 22 Jump and Just Words should be good.


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## jennm149 (Jun 9, 2014)

@@nikkimouse -- so sorry to hear that, but glad you're sticking around!  Hope he finds something quickly!


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## BSquared (Jun 9, 2014)

I am super excited to get my person too!! Ulta never sent my birthday email with my free $10 and I was bummed but now I think I'll email them and use it on my person when I get it! Free money that won't count towards the limit!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 9, 2014)

So excited to see who my person is!!!!!!  :w00t:


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## bonita22 (Jun 9, 2014)

I'm almost done with my midsummer swap purchases. So ready to start shopping for my SummerSwap buddy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## rachelshine (Jun 9, 2014)

@@nikkimouse never a fun situation to be in &lt;3 &lt;3 I was in it recently and it's just terrible. Sending all the positive vibes in the world!! 

Squealing soo hard to find out our matches!! I am also getting orders in from indie companies having internal debates with myself of whether or not I should open things or keep for my swapee. They may like them!!


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## bonita22 (Jun 9, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Squealing soo hard to find out our matches!! I am also getting orders in from indie companies having internal debates with myself of whether or not I should open things or keep for my swapee. They may like them!!


I'm having the same struggle, I don't want to open anything that my swap buddy might like!


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## meaganola (Jun 9, 2014)

I really, *really* hope my recipient likes or wants to try indies! I'm antsy to get my person so I can finish divvying up my stash. I need to purge it and start fresh.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 9, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I really, *really* hope my recipient likes or wants to try indies! I'm antsy to get my person so I can finish divvying up my stash. I need to purge it and start fresh.


Me too! I want a summer swapster who is into cool new things I haven't tried.  I feel like I've been good for really long and now I want to do some '1 for you 1 for me' shopping!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 9, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I really, *really* hope my recipient likes or wants to try indies! I'm antsy to get my person so I can finish divvying up my stash. I need to purge it and start fresh.


I gotta ask -- are most indies in loose form? I've never really used loose powder except for face powder or bare minerals stuff (never for eyes) Is there a sort of learning curve? I feel like I'll use way too much at once -- or drop the whole thing!


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 9, 2014)

I am too messy for anything except pressed products--loose items always end up all over me, the bathroom, and the dogs.  We had a horrible powdered navy eyeliner issue once---never again!  &lt;_&lt;


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 9, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> I am too messy for anything except pressed products--loose items always end up all over me, the bathroom, and the dogs.  We had a horrible powdered navy eyeliner issue once---never again!  &lt;_&lt;


Lol yup this is me. The number of times I've dropped a Tarte finishing powder is kinda ridic.


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## meaganola (Jun 9, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> I gotta ask -- are most indies in loose form? I've never really used loose powder except for face powder or bare minerals stuff (never for eyes) Is there a sort of learning curve? I feel like I'll use way too much at once -- or drop the whole thing!


Yeah, they're usually loose. There's a bit of a learning curve, but it's not steep. The big keys are primer and the right brushes. It's worth it for the huge variety available in loose form that isn't available in pressed form!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 9, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Lol yup this is me. The number of times I've dropped a Tarte finishing powder is kinda ridic.


I'm a clutz too so I always tap whatever I want to use in the caps so if I drop it it wont be horribly tragic.  Now mascara, I drop ridiculously often and it bounces all over the place making a mess.  I swear bathroom gnomes are coating my mascara wands in butter when I sleep.


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## DonnaD (Jun 9, 2014)

Indies hold no interest for me.  They're usually extremely expensive and crazy colours old chicks can't wear.  Even indie polish doesn't interest me and I do so love nail polish.  Too much glitter.

I don't own many brushes and I've never really gotten the hang of applying eye shadow with them.  I really don't want anyone purchasing eye shadow for me anyway.  I don't buy it online...and I buy everything online...because I need matte shades and I need muted colours and it's really hard to tell exactly what colours you'll get on the monitor.


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## rachelshine (Jun 9, 2014)

@ they are usually loose, but I found the learning curve to be quite quick. I also always do my makeup over the sink/ledge of something so if I happen to drop, it won't be a total loss. A lot of indie come with the option of adding a sifter too so if there was spillage, it wouldn't be doomsday. 

1 thing I love is that you can often buy samples for like $1-$2 of a color and get a crap ton of use out of them (at least 10-15) to really get to know if you like the color AND to see if you you're able to work with it application wise. Mayhaps your swap will have some samples laying around that they will send you and you can dip your toes in the water!

@@DonnaD I actually find indies to be relatively inexpensive when compared to other brands...Full size jars of eyeshades, usually 2 grams usually run about $5-6 dollars where as 2 grams of Tarte eyeshadow is $17. But hey, everyone has different tastes  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## tgooberbutt (Jun 9, 2014)

nikkimouse said:


> Sadly I needed to back out of this exchange  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> the hubby lost his job and money is just too tight to really do my person justice. I'm still following along to see all the pretties you guys give each other!!!


sending good employment and career vibes your way!  :hugs3:


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## CurlyTails (Jun 9, 2014)

I would love to try more indies! I'm also looking forward to seeing what my swapee likes since I'm always on the hunt for new things to try  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## heath67013 (Jun 9, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> I gotta ask -- are most indies in loose form? I've never really used loose powder except for face powder or bare minerals stuff (never for eyes) Is there a sort of learning curve? I feel like I'll use way too much at once -- or drop the whole thing!


I love loose powder eye shadows. Most of the time I seem to get more color payoff. You should at least try one! They don't take to long to get use to. Although I definitely had a learning curve with my pedestal sink. Numerous things have slid down or hit the floor! I need to work on setting up a vanity.


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## Kelli (Jun 9, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @@nikkimouse never a fun situation to be in &lt;3 &lt;3 I was in it recently and it's just terrible. Sending all the positive vibes in the world!!
> 
> Squealing soo hard to find out our matches!! I am also getting orders in from indie companies having internal debates with myself of whether or not I should open things or keep for my swapee. They may like them!!


I was very close to making a purchase from my favorite indie, just because _maybe_ my person would like it...if not, I'd just have to take one for the team and use it myself  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> If whoever gets me likes indies, I am soooo down with getting some! I have been using my loose shadows so much lately. Bring on the sparkles!

For anyone who hasn't used loose, I agree with everyone else saying the learning curve is very small. My biggest tip would be less is more, so you don't really get a lot of fallout (and you can always add another thin layer if it isn't opaque enough).

@@nikkimouse - sending positive vibes to you. Hope a new, even better job comes your husband's way!


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## Kelli (Jun 9, 2014)

Whooops. Double post.


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## Dashery (Jun 9, 2014)

heath67013 said:


> I love loose powder eye shadows. Most of the time I seem to get more color payoff. You should at least try one! They don't take to long to get use to. Although I definitely had a learning curve with my pedestal sink. Numerous things have slid down or hit the floor! I need to work on setting up a vanity.


Loose shadows are my favorite too. I don't know why, but I find them easier to work with.


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## heath67013 (Jun 9, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Loose shadows are my favorite too. I don't know why, but I find them easier to work with.


I agree! There more concentrated for me so a little goes a long way.


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## meaganola (Jun 9, 2014)

Despite my severe clumsiness, the only loose pigment fatality I have ever experienced was when I was closing a jar. It just *jumped* out of my hands and hit the counter, the toilet, the bathtub, the garbage can, and the floor. I had just taken a picture of it and hadn't had the chance up actually use it, so I immediately ordered another jar. My bathroom is still covered in a fine dusting of sparkly mint green eyeshadow.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 9, 2014)

I don't have many loose eyeshadows/blushes/etc.  So whoever gets my name if it's something you're really into, send some my way.  I'm always up for discovering or learning something new.

Anyone else checking your message box a thousand times a day at this point?  We could get our swap partners ANY DAY now.  I know they said anytime between the 9th-14th, but I swear I've logged on about 30 times today just hoping a message would pop up saying who my swap partner is.  I have no patience!!!  LET ME START SHOPPING!!!  ;-)


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## marigoldsue (Jun 9, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I don't have many loose eyeshadows/blushes/etc.  So whoever gets my name if it's something you're really into, send some my way.  I'm always up for discovering or learning something new.
> 
> Anyone else checking your message box a thousand times a day at this point?  We could get our swap partners ANY DAY now.  I know they said anytime between the 9th-14th, but I swear I've logged on about 30 times today just hoping a message would pop up saying who my swap partner is.  I have no patience!!!  LET ME START SHOPPING!!!  ;-)


Oh Me too...all day checking in when I should have been working.  Very excited to find out who I get to shop for!


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## SaraP (Jun 9, 2014)

I've never really tried any indie makeup, but loose shadow sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I'm not the most graceful gal...


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## Babs28 (Jun 9, 2014)

An update on Swap Buddy assignments so you can stop checking your in box. I'm in bed with a massive migraine tonight (sorry) and can't see straight.  Pms will start going out tomorrow after noon eastern time.  I'll send as many as I can each day.

Thank god for Siri!


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## jennm149 (Jun 9, 2014)

@@Babs28 -- feel better!  Migraines are awful.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 9, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> An update on Swap Buddy assignments so you can stop checking your in box. I'm in bed with a massive migraine tonight (sorry) and can't see straight. Pms will start going out tomorrow after noon eastern time. I'll send as many as I can each day.
> 
> Thank god for Siri!


I hope you feel better @@Babs28!


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## BSquared (Jun 9, 2014)

Feel better @@Babs28!!!

I am totally down for indies too for whomever gets me!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I'm rather clumsy too but I'm the one that has to clean the bathroom so I will be as messy as I want to be.

I wanna shoppppp but I want to wait for my perrrrrson. Maybe I'll go get a few carts ready, ya know, just to be prepared for a variety of options depending on what my person likes.


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## wadedl (Jun 9, 2014)

I don't like loose shadows because I am a total klutz. I drop everything and I have dropped loose shadow and made a mess. I have gotten mineral foundation on my clothes getting ready many many times.

I used to make cards and I can't count how many times I dropped open glitter containers or swarovski containers! The swarovskis aren't cheap and I would sit there and pick up the teeny tiny things as much as I could. The other day at Macys I dropped and shattered a bottle of Butter London Poole nail polish! I stood there horrified trying to apologize and the employees just ignored me and frantically cleaned the polish off the floor and shelf.  :blush2:

On the subject of dropping. I dropped my mac studio fix when I was in high school and brought the remains and compact in a baggie with me just for color reference and they just handed me a replacement.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 9, 2014)

I am loving Indies, I want to try them all! I also cannot wait to get my swap person, I am known for planning out gifts, and I have to say I love the hunt of finding the perfect items! I want to get started!


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## jesemiaud (Jun 9, 2014)

I'd love to try indies...anything! Even though I'm old, lol. I find that if a color is too bright, I can make it work as an eyeliner pretty well.


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## chelsealady (Jun 9, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> An update on Swap Buddy assignments so you can stop checking your in box. I'm in bed with a massive migraine tonight (sorry) and can't see straight. Pms will start going out tomorrow after noon eastern time. I'll send as many as I can each day.
> 
> Thank god for Siri!


Feel better.


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## bonita22 (Jun 9, 2014)

Feel better @@Babs28

I would love to try indie makeup. The only reason I haven't tried any is mainly because I'm afraid of eyeshadows that might be too glittery. I'm ok with some sparkle but I don't like anything that could be considered a glitter bomb.


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## meaganola (Jun 9, 2014)

When it comes to eyeshadow, I think my rule of thumb goes a little like this:  Would a drag performer impersonating Dolly Parton wear it and/or be a little afraid it might be over-the-top?  Yes to either one?  Perfect.  You can't really see my lid color when my eyes are open, so why bother going understated and neutral when you can go flashy and still look pretty much the same?  I do try to avoid overly glittery stuff, but that's just because the fallout on my glasses gets annoying.  Fear no color!  

(And now, it's time to swatch today's arrival:  My June innocent+twisted alchemy subscription pack!  There's a *lot* in here.  I'm actually a little overwhelmed.)


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## rachelshine (Jun 9, 2014)

@@meaganola Oh my gosh, jealous!! I snagged a Vanishing Cabinet sub from Notoriously Morbid (her first "subscription" monthly collection AND based on The Craft!!) and also jumped at Hello Waffles 500 Likes Trio, so I can't waiiiit to get those babies in the mail. I think that Shiro Cosmetics is based out of Portland, so you could probably just go to craft faires and get all your pretties from her *jealous pout*


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## meaganola (Jun 9, 2014)

@@rachelshine  Oh!  I'm going to have to keep an eye on Notoriously Morbid!  I'm a sucker for themed collections like that.  Super bummed that I missed out on a collection based on _The Craft_.  I love that movie!  And for some random reason, two completely separate movie podcasts did features on it within the past month, and it just popped up on Netflix Instant this week!  If my internet connection was cooperating, I would be watching that right now!  (It's not, so I'm starting a rewatch of the first season of _Six Feet Under_ since I have the whole series on my hard drive.)  

And, yup, I got my first round of Shiro in-person at Crafty Wonderland (live-action etsy!) in… April?  That sounds about right.  She only had about eight loose shadows that day because she was doing a build-your-own-pressed-palette thing.  I'm keeping an eye on their Facebook page for the next place they go because I really want some more tinted lip balms but do *not* want to risk a complete meltdown in the mail!


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## SaraP (Jun 9, 2014)

Thanks @@Babs28 , take your time and feel better!


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## Jac13 (Jun 10, 2014)

@@Babs28 hope you feel better. Migraines are the worst. I am excited to see who I will get.

I personally do not use glitter makeup. My eyes are very sensitive to glitter. I had to give away a beautiful silver eyeliner because I didn't realize it had glitter in it. I have several loose eyeshadows from subscription boxes that I have never open nor attempted to try out. I did receive a couple minis of indies from my Christmas Santa that were rather pretty.

I like to try new things but I end up going back to my faves. I am loving the Sharon and Kelly Osbourn eye palettes from MAC. I also love good products in pretty packaging. I wouldn't mind trying some Korean products. I heard they are really good.


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## dancersmum (Jun 10, 2014)

@@Babs28 - feel better!


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## dancersmum (Jun 10, 2014)

A quick question - ladies I have a source to get "seconds" for high/mid end make up brushes...  Do you think its okay to include things like this in our packages?  The last time I was offered some (a friends works in manufacturing) I bought extras...they don't come with the packaging but a few had minor scratches on the logos or on the metal work...the actual brush was in perfect condition!  These are brushes that are usually around the $30++ mark and I sometimes am able to buy them for around $8 (including shipping).  My daughter has gotten 90% of her good brushes this way and has a few ELF brushes and some other odds and ends and I can't tell the difference between the ones that come from the store or the ones I get through my friend.

They usually have small cosmetic flaws and I have been very happy with all the brushes except one that I've gotten from here.  I picked up extras of my favorite brush and my daughter, some of her friends and my nieces and I all love using it!


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## trekkersangel (Jun 10, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> A quick question - ladies I have a source to get "seconds" for high/mid end make up brushes...  Do you think its okay to include things like this in our packages?  The last time I was offered some (a friends works in manufacturing) I bought extras...they don't come with the packaging but a few had minor scratches on the logos or on the metal work...the actual brush was in perfect condition!  These are brushes that are usually around the $30++ mark and I sometimes am able to buy them for around $8 (including shipping).  My daughter has gotten 90% of her good brushes this way and has a few ELF brushes and some other odds and ends and I can't tell the difference between the ones that come from the store or the ones I get through my friend.
> 
> They usually have small cosmetic flaws and I have been very happy with all the brushes except one that I've gotten from here.  I picked up extras of my favorite brush and my daughter, some of her friends and my nieces and I all love using it!


Most definitely. I think most of us could always use a new brush!!!


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## Babs28 (Jun 10, 2014)

Thanks, for the well wishes, ladies!!  I'm feeling better and I can SEE!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> YAY!!  I've suffered from migraines since I was 18... no mas!!  No Mas!!  

I wish I could get everyones' Buddy out today but some of you will get them.  There is no rhyme or reason to the order in which they are going out!!  

You can start looking after 12pm.


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## Kelli (Jun 10, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> A quick question - ladies I have a source to get "seconds" for high/mid end make up brushes...  Do you think its okay to include things like this in our packages?  The last time I was offered some (a friends works in manufacturing) I bought extras...they don't come with the packaging but a few had minor scratches on the logos or on the metal work...the actual brush was in perfect condition!  These are brushes that are usually around the $30++ mark and I sometimes am able to buy them for around $8 (including shipping).  My daughter has gotten 90% of her good brushes this way and has a few ELF brushes and some other odds and ends and I can't tell the difference between the ones that come from the store or the ones I get through my friend.
> 
> They usually have small cosmetic flaws and I have been very happy with all the brushes except one that I've gotten from here.  I picked up extras of my favorite brush and my daughter, some of her friends and my nieces and I all love using it!


I think most of us would be totally ok with those! I definitely would be  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> And lucky you for having a source for such things!


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## jednashley (Jun 10, 2014)

So I am new to this whole thing...how will we find out who are swapbuddie is? 

I have never heard of indie stuff....someone have a link that I could look at?  Seems super cool and  interesintg!!  Of course anything makeup I usually love &lt;3


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## jednashley (Jun 10, 2014)

Kelli said:


> dancersmum


For me...I would LOVE burshes, I think it is a awesome thing to include in the box  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jun 10, 2014)

jednashley said:


> So I am new to this whole thing...how will we find out who are swapbuddie is?
> 
> I have never heard of indie stuff....someone have a link that I could look at? Seems super cool and interesintg!! Of course anything makeup I usually love &lt;3


You will receive a PM with your swap recipient's information. That will not be the same person who has you for a recipient! That person is usually (but not always!) revealed when you get your package.

Indies: Just google a few of these!

Rainbow Honey (nail polish)

Glamour Doll Eyes

Geek Chic Cosmetics

Shiro Cosmetics

Espionage Cosmetics

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (my favorite! Perfume oils, and hundreds of them)

There are many, *many* more, but these are off the top of my head.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 10, 2014)

*Hi all!*

*Since assignments will be coming out shortly (YAY!)  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />**   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />**   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />** ** I just wanted to make a little reminder to make sure you have a wishlist/info list up in your signature to help out your swap buddy :drive: ** **. If you already have one up, awesome! But please make sure its updated. I know I've been bad and may have bought a thing or two off of my own list so I have to update mine!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />** *

*I'm all geared up to stalk h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />** ** and shop! Are you?!  :lol: ** *


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## Lolo22 (Jun 10, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> *Hi all!*
> 
> *Since assignments will be coming out shortly (YAY!)  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />**   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />**   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />** ** I just wanted to make a little reminder to make sure you have a wishlist/info list up in your signature to help out your swap buddy :drive: ** **. If you already have one up, awesome! But please make sure its updated. I know I've been bad and may have bought a thing or two off of my own list so I have to update mine!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />** *
> 
> *I'm all geared up to stalk h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />** ** and shop! Are you?!  :lol: ** *


Yes ma'am, super ready! :bandit:


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## Dashery (Jun 10, 2014)

Bring it on!  :couch:   I'll be watching when you least expect it...  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## tulosai (Jun 10, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @@DonnaD I actually find indies to be relatively inexpensive when compared to other brands...Full size jars of eyeshades, usually 2 grams usually run about $5-6 dollars where as 2 grams of Tarte eyeshadow is $17. But hey, everyone has different tastes  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I agree, I don't find most indies to be any more expensive than the rest of what I buy.  The difference is that it CAN be harder to get amazing sales/steals on the Indies- I more often pay full price.



rachelshine said:


> @@meaganola Oh my gosh, jealous!! I snagged a Vanishing Cabinet sub from Notoriously Morbid (her first "subscription" monthly collection AND based on The Craft!!) and also jumped at Hello Waffles 500 Likes Trio, so I can't waiiiit to get those babies in the mail. I think that Shiro Cosmetics is based out of Portland, so you could probably just go to craft faires and get all your pretties from her *jealous pout*


Is there an indie thread on MUT somewhere??? I'd have loved to have known about these deals... though my bank account is glad I didn't...



dancersmum said:


> A quick question - ladies I have a source to get "seconds" for high/mid end make up brushes...  Do you think its okay to include things like this in our packages?  The last time I was offered some (a friends works in manufacturing) I bought extras...they don't come with the packaging but a few had minor scratches on the logos or on the metal work...the actual brush was in perfect condition!  These are brushes that are usually around the $30++ mark and I sometimes am able to buy them for around $8 (including shipping).  My daughter has gotten 90% of her good brushes this way and has a few ELF brushes and some other odds and ends and I can't tell the difference between the ones that come from the store or the ones I get through my friend.
> 
> They usually have small cosmetic flaws and I have been very happy with all the brushes except one that I've gotten from here.  I picked up extras of my favorite brush and my daughter, some of her friends and my nieces and I all love using it!


I'd love to get these!

Ahhhhhh SO EXCITED TO GET MY PERSON!!!!


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## rachelshine (Jun 10, 2014)

@@dancersmum ohhh, I'd be soo down for this!! Heck, I'd like to know your ~source~ heh  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

@@Babs28 so glad you feel better!! Migraines are a terrible beast!! I have silent migraines, aka everything BUT the horrific headache and I am down for the count, so I couldn't imagine adding the headache in &lt;3 &lt;3 

@@tulosai I'm not sure if we have an indie specific thread, but I do try and post indie sales in the enabler thread when they happen! Some are quick flash sales though and you have to be grabby hands haha. I am also a regular now on /r/indiemakeup and ergo have lost so much of my money but look/smell so pretty!


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## BSquared (Jun 10, 2014)

Yay I'm so excited!! Even if I don't get mine today even knowing assignments are coming is so exciting!


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## DonnaD (Jun 10, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @DonnaD I actually find indies to be relatively inexpensive when compared to other brands...Full size jars of eyeshades, usually 2 grams usually run about $5-6 dollars where as 2 grams of Tarte eyeshadow is $17. But hey, everyone has different tastes


Maybe it's just an assumption on my part.  To me, it's expensive for what it is.  But then, I feel the same way about Nars and $300 shoes.  I can't really even claim it's my age that prevents me from wearing glittery, funky colours.  I've always been conservative...even as a teen.

@@BSquared  Glad you're feeling better.  I had a migraine once when I was 19 when a wisdom tooth came in.  I never ever ever want to experience that hell again.

@@nikkimouse  I don't know how I missed it, but I sincerely hope he finds something quickly.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 10, 2014)

Everytime I get an email from MUT I race over to check if it's from Babs...lol nope.


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## SaraP (Jun 10, 2014)

I'm stalking this more then my Ipsy glam room!



Lolo22 said:


> Everytime I get an email from MUT I race over to check if it's from Babs...lol nope.


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## meaganola (Jun 10, 2014)

Please oh please let me get my match soon! It will take my mind off my coworker's nephews' high school, currently all over the national news.


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## BSquared (Jun 10, 2014)

Anyone yet their person yet??? I feel a little....stalky with how much I'm checking this thread today lol


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## marigoldsue (Jun 10, 2014)

I could really use a pick me up today.  It has been raining hard here for the last two days.  I have a drainage issue in my front yard, so the front half of my driveway has turned into a lake.  And I just discovered I have a leak in my roof, and the last time a roof was installed it was not done properly, so I have wood rot underneath the shingles.  And I have a houseguest that is turning in to one of those house guests from hell horror stories.  Last night, in the midst of this unrelenting rain, said houseguest had left the gate to my backyard open (third time within the last month) and one of my dogs got out.  So while I am out in the rain trying desperately to find the missing dog, houeguest is lounging on a bed in front of a TV.  No offers to help.  No I'm sorry.  After finding the dog, I come home soaked and cold, and jump into the shower to get warm.  After my shower I am quietly going about my business rather impressed at my restraint in not letting loose verbally, when I get accused of being a baby.

Please, please, please may I have my summerswappee soon to take my mind someplace fun...the land of shopping and pampering someone who may actually appreciate my efforts...


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## sstich79 (Jun 10, 2014)

Not to be a parrot, but I can't wait to get my person! I keep having to remind myself, "Don't buy that because you *hope* your person might like it... wait until you get her!" How many people are participating in Summerswap, total?


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 10, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> I could really use a pick me up today.  It has been raining hard here for the last two days.  I have a drainage issue in my front yard, so the front half of my driveway has turned into a lake.  And I just discovered I have a leak in my roof, and the last time a roof was installed it was not done properly, so I have wood rot underneath the shingles.  And I have a houseguest that is turning in to one of those house guests from hell horror stories.  Last night, in the midst of this unrelenting rain, said houseguest had left the gate to my backyard open (third time within the last month) and one of my dogs got out.  So while I am out in the rain trying desperately to find the missing dog, houeguest is lounging on a bed in front of a TV.  No offers to help.  No I'm sorry.  After finding the dog, I come home soaked and cold, and jump into the shower to get warm.  After my shower I am quietly going about my business rather impressed at my restraint in not letting loose verbally, when I get accused of being a baby.
> 
> Please, please, please may I have my summerswappee soon to take my mind someplace fun...the land of shopping and pampering someone who may actually appreciate my efforts...


Said houseguest would have been issued out of my house by growling dogs by that point!!!!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 10, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> I could really use a pick me up today.  It has been raining hard here for the last two days.  I have a drainage issue in my front yard, so the front half of my driveway has turned into a lake.  And I just discovered I have a leak in my roof, and the last time a roof was installed it was not done properly, so I have wood rot underneath the shingles.  And I have a houseguest that is turning in to one of those house guests from hell horror stories.  Last night, in the midst of this unrelenting rain, said houseguest had left the gate to my backyard open (third time within the last month) and one of my dogs got out.  So while I am out in the rain trying desperately to find the missing dog, houeguest is lounging on a bed in front of a TV.  No offers to help.  No I'm sorry.  After finding the dog, I come home soaked and cold, and jump into the shower to get warm.  After my shower I am quietly going about my business rather impressed at my restraint in not letting loose verbally, when I get accused of being a baby.
> 
> Please, please, please may I have my summerswappee soon to take my mind someplace fun...the land of shopping and pampering someone who may actually appreciate my efforts...


Oh no, so sorry to hear about the water and houseguest issues but I'm so glad you found your puppy safe and sound!


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## Babs28 (Jun 10, 2014)

I'm sitting and I heinously boring meeting right now, and I can't get on my computer. However, I will start PMing the names of people summer swap buddies. All you're going to get is the name right now. I can't format on my phone or anything so it will just be a name and that's it but I can send PMs to hopefully brighten up some days.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 10, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> Said houseguest would have been issued out of my house by growling dogs by that point!!!!


May I borrow your growling dogs?  We need to have a come to Jesus moment at my house and I have the goofiest yellow lab/beagle mix and a hesitnat min pin/chi mix.  Neither of them would scare a flea if they tried to growl!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 10, 2014)

Giddy up!! Got my swapster!!!!!!!


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## Babs28 (Jun 10, 2014)

I just sent about 10 "Buddies" out. I will send out address, allergies, etc. When I'm on my laptop. So more info will follow.

I have to get back to the meeting I'm in. I'm getting dirty looks! Lol  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## marigoldsue (Jun 10, 2014)

Feeling better.  I may have the least picky/most agreeable person ever to shop for!  And Bonus, one of the things she is interested in trying, is one of the areas that I feel most knowledgeable in (and something I kind of wanted to send whoever I might get anyway).  This is going to be FUN!


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## Dashery (Jun 10, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Giddy up!! Got my swapster!!!!!!!


Ah! So jealous! Happy stalking!


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## tulosai (Jun 10, 2014)

OMG SO JEALOUS of those of you who have yours!!!!!!


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## rachelshine (Jun 10, 2014)

@@Babs28 wahoo! Annnnd I am off to stalk *stealth mode activated*


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## BSquared (Jun 10, 2014)

I got my person I got my person I got my person!! I'm so excited!!! Stalking hat officially on *insert ninja smiley because idk how to do smileys on mobile*


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## SaraP (Jun 10, 2014)

&lt;p&gt;I got my person and my head exploded! I've been stalking them previously &lt;img src="https://www.makeuptalk.com/f/public/style_emoticons/default/couch.gif" style="font-size: 14px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;so I'm all set to go shopping.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;*also I just found out I'm allergic to retinol, my face doesn't have a problem but my under eyes looks like chicken skin the rash is so bad!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;


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## sstich79 (Jun 10, 2014)

Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong! Watch out, newly-gotten swappee... I'm onto you! :couch:


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## Lolo22 (Jun 10, 2014)

sarap said:


> I got my person and my head exploded! I've been stalking them previously so I'm all set to go shopping.


My gal has like 4 things on her wishlist that I already have full sizes of that I bought out of boredom and never tried.  Plus she likes everything I like!  I just had the most fun I've had all day going through her profile :lol: eeeeeeeeekkk!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 10, 2014)

I am so jealous of everyone who had gotten their buddy!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 10, 2014)

YAY I'm so happy for all those who have gotten buddies!

sit tight!


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 10, 2014)

Super jealous of everyone that got their person!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 10, 2014)

I think I'm obsessively checking my messages more than I am my Ipsy Glam Room  :lol:


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## trekkersangel (Jun 10, 2014)

Yay for buddies.  Still waiting on mine, but I'm sure it will come when the time is right.  (But yes, I'm jealous of all you ladies who already have your names.)  

I think I'll start clicking on random people in this thread anyway &amp; pretend to stalk all of you until my name comes to me.   h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## chelsealady (Jun 10, 2014)

So I've not been productive at all today. Checking glam room, checking summer swap, Checking glam room, checking summer swap. Checking to see if my midsummer present has got there yet. And repeat.


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## Babs28 (Jun 10, 2014)

I'll send more names a bit later.  I can walk around my house with my phone and paper and send the names while hanging out with my son.  The rest of the information will follow when I can sit down at a computer. Jess will also be sending names out too soon.


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## tulosai (Jun 10, 2014)

OMG got mine thank yooooooou!!!

Honestly it is a person I barely know at all, but actually that makes it more fun! I can stalk in earnest and start from scratch!


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## Dashery (Jun 10, 2014)

Eek! I got mine. And I recognize the name! Yay! Off to stalk!


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## rachelshine (Jun 10, 2014)

I kind of liked that I didn't recognize the name! I started a new bookmarks folder for her and all  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 10, 2014)

Yay I got mine too and it's someone I didn't recognize! But I'm already shopping my stash and I think I have quite a few products she would like!


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## heath67013 (Jun 10, 2014)

I love it!!! Can't wait to see who I end up with!


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## Deareux (Jun 10, 2014)

The anticipation is killing me! I need to start stalk-shopping!


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## tanya0949 (Jun 10, 2014)

So late to the group... Is it too late to join?


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## bonita22 (Jun 10, 2014)

Yay! I just got mine. Let the stalking begin  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jun 10, 2014)

tanya0949 said:


> So late to the group... Is it too late to join?


Yes. Sign ups ended June 2nd.  Sorry!!


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 10, 2014)

Got my person! Off to do some serious stalking  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dancersmum (Jun 10, 2014)

Super crazy jealous here...dying to get my assignment...need something happy to focus on.

I don't know if I'm hormonal or what the heck is wrong with me - but I am having so much trouble coping with the fact my youngest son is still wheelchair bound...I hate seeing him in pain and not being able to do much for him but pray that it passes...


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## marigoldsue (Jun 10, 2014)

I have known who I have for 5 hours and I am already on my third "theme" for her gift.  I may drive myself crazy during this process.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 10, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Super crazy jealous here...dying to get my assignment...need something happy to focus on.
> 
> I don't know if I'm hormonal or what the heck is wrong with me - but I am having so much trouble coping with the fact my youngest son is still wheelchair bound...I hate seeing him in pain and not being able to do much for him but pray that it passes...


@@dancersmum, That is the worst feeling in the world.  Seeing your child in pain and not being abe to fix it is the most helpless feeling.  We think our job as mom is to make everything okay for our kids.  Facing our own limitations as a parent and realizing their are somethings we just can't fix is not an easy place to be.  Joining you in your prayers.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 10, 2014)

@@dancersmum Sending happy thoughts and good vibes your way!

I'm still hoping I receive my person tonight! I've been waiting all day to stalk!


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## BSquared (Jun 10, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> I have known who I have for 5 hours and I am already on my third "theme" for her gift. I may drive myself crazy during this process.


I may have ordered 2 things off etsy already too. This is SO FUN THOUGH!!


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## Christa W (Jun 10, 2014)

For whoever gets me I promise I will get around to getting a list of some kind shortly.


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## LolaJay (Jun 10, 2014)

curlytails said:


> @@dancersmum Sending happy thoughts and good vibes your way!
> 
> I'm still hoping I receive my person tonight! I've been waiting all day to stalk!


Ditto!!!


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## lastnite629 (Jun 10, 2014)

I spent most of the afternoon stalking ipsy and MUT. Now I get to stalk my electric company (via phone.)  We had a strong storm blow in really quickly a few hours ago. Wind gusts of 60mph.  Knocked down a tree right outside our property line, which fell on a power line.  Power line is now laying across my back yard. Ugh.  We have power, but the older couple next door does not. 

Jealous of everyone that already knows their person!


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## meaganola (Jun 10, 2014)

I'm not sure if I made this offer here already, but I'll make it now (or again if I've already posted here):  If you would like help with indie makeup (especially fannish loose pigments), just PM me!  It might take me a day or two to get back to you, but that's almost definitely because I'm working on pulling together a list (and maybe even a swatch set, if I have the colors) for you.  Priority will be given to people looking for help for swap recipients, but I'm happy to help anyone!


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## emilylithium (Jun 10, 2014)

I am so excited that I got my person! Stalking stalking stalking


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## jayeme (Jun 10, 2014)

I'm going crazy waiting to find out for my person!! 

To whoever gets me: I promise I will put up a wishlist of some kind by the end of the week! Thank you for being patient!


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## jennm149 (Jun 10, 2014)

I'm beginning to feel like Charlie Brown on Halloween.

     "I got my swap buddy!"

     "I got a gift for my swap buddy."

     "I got a rock."

Soon, soon.  I just hope it's in the next day or two. I want to use my gift certs from May Glossybox.  One expires on the 15th, and I need some stalking time!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 10, 2014)

I already bought my person something and I think I know my theme! Fun way to end my super boring day!


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## Babs28 (Jun 10, 2014)

PMs are done for the day. If you didn't get yours today from me or usofjessamerica, you will get it tomorrow.

And to whoever my Buddy is, I'll post a wish list very soon! I've been a bit busy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> but if you have any questions, feel free to send them thru a Roadie!


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## emilylithium (Jun 10, 2014)

to my buddy, thank you so much for shopping for me! i promise that i will put a wishlist up soonish! love you！


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## wadedl (Jun 10, 2014)

I got my buddy and started my wish list!


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## DonnaD (Jun 10, 2014)

I'm kind of afraid to shop until my buddy gets her Midsummer stuff and posts it.  I'm afraid to get the same things.


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## Jac13 (Jun 10, 2014)

Oh well... I didn't get my swap buddy. Hopefully I will get it tomorrow. On a bright side, I just saw an advance screening of 22 Jump Street and it was sooooo funny. You gotta check it out when it opens in theatres.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 10, 2014)

BAH. i've had a really bad cough since Thursday. the kind that (brace yourself) literally makes you cough so hard that you lose your lunch..and breakfast.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I dont have a head cold or fever -- just a really nasty cough! Sometimes I get those really deep once that feel like they're scratching up my lungs  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

But, I'm glad I got my summer swap assignment (and sent some out too  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ) because that brightened my day! Everyone who has yet to receive theirs, sit tight and we'll finish it out tomorrow. I'm going to go and down some cough syrup through a straw now...


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## Jac13 (Jun 10, 2014)

@ I hope you feel better. I hate summer colds. They are the worst.


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## DonnaD (Jun 10, 2014)

So yeah.  I just bought 2 things I think she'll love.  That concludes the $25-ish portion of my gift.  Now to the extras!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Christa W (Jun 10, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> So yeah.  I just bought 2 things I think she'll love.  That concludes the $25-ish portion of my gift.  Now to the extras!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


LOL that was fast!!!  How long until we can ship??  LOL.  I have to wait to shop for mine until my next pay day, that should give me plenty of time to fuss over what to get her that will be perfect!!


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## meaganola (Jun 10, 2014)

@ Ugh, I hate those coughs!  I get them a whole lot more often than I would like.  Allergies suck.  

(And I'm thinking I'm headed to take some Ambien in about ten minutes and go to bed when it kicks in.  It's been one of those days where I'm not exactly *tired*, but I just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep so it's *over*, not to mention so my brain can reset and function correctly.)


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## SaraP (Jun 11, 2014)

I've read through 1/2 of my gals 60 pages of posts...Think I have a good idea of what I'm going to get, only problem is my list is over well over 20 items :satisfied:


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## SaraP (Jun 11, 2014)

@@dancersmum Sending big hugs to you and your son!

@ Feel better soon and big thanks for working so hard getting names out!


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## sstich79 (Jun 11, 2014)

sarap said:


> I've read through 1/2 of my gals 60 pages of posts...Think I have a good idea of what I'm going to get, only problem is my list is over well over 20 items :satisfied:


Man, I wish my girl had that many posts!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 11, 2014)

sarap said:


> I've read through 1/2 of my gals 60 pages of posts...Think I have a good idea of what I'm going to get, only problem is my list is over well over 20 items :satisfied:


Ok now I feel like a dope I cannot for the life of me figure out how to see all of my person's posts in a big list. I found a page with about the last 5 posts, but I can't see the rest. Where do I go?

Nevermind, I found it!


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## dancersmum (Jun 11, 2014)

Hmmmm I have my name now...but my girl doesn't post that much....no matter - this may be a little more of a challenge than I thought it would be!  Only issue is I want to buy ALL the pretty things....how to choose...what to choose...

And just in case...I've looked at many many peoples profiles today to cover my tracks lol - so if you are one of the 25+ profiles I looked at...I may or may not be shopping for you!


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## SaraP (Jun 11, 2014)

:bandit:  I signed out and then typed her user name in the search bar and changed the search to member, just to cover my tracks  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jun 11, 2014)

Christa W said:


> LOL that was fast!!!  How long until we can ship??  LOL.  I have to wait to shop for mine until my next pay day, that should give me plenty of time to fuss over what to get her that will be perfect!!


@@Christa W Gifts should be sent out between July 27 - Aug 8, no sooner.  Thanks!


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## Babs28 (Jun 11, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Super crazy jealous here...dying to get my assignment...need something happy to focus on.
> 
> I don't know if I'm hormonal or what the heck is wrong with me - but I am having so much trouble coping with the fact my youngest son is still wheelchair bound...I hate seeing him in pain and not being able to do much for him but pray that it passes...


I'm sorry, I'm just seeing this!  I hope everything is ok.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Like marigoldsue said, it's so difficult to watch your child suffer and not be able to do anything about it. You and he are in my thoughts!


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## Babs28 (Jun 11, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> BAH. i've had a really bad cough since Thursday. the kind that (brace yourself) literally makes you cough so hard that you lose your lunch..and breakfast.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I dont have a head cold or fever -- just a really nasty cough! Sometimes I get those really deep once that feel like they're scratching up my lungs  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> But, I'm glad I got my summer swap assignment (and sent some out too  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ) because that brightened my day! Everyone who has yet to receive theirs, sit tight and we'll finish it out tomorrow. I'm going to go and down some cough syrup through a straw now...


Why didn't you tell me you were sick?  :angry:   :angry:   Insert :evil eye: emoticon here.  You should have rested, silly!!!   No Summerswap duties for you today!  Stay in bed and rest... that's an order!    Or no pretties for you!!  :bringiton:  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  (I always wanted to use the baseball bat one!)   Feel better!!! :flowers:  &lt;----- That's a flower from Z!


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## button6004 (Jun 11, 2014)

I am so excited! I just signed in and got my name! I recognize it, but now I've got to get to sneaking around here!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

This is going to be so much fun!


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## button6004 (Jun 11, 2014)

And I hope my wish list isnt a mess for my buddy!

This falls just after my birthday and seriously, its going to be like getting an extra birthday treat!


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## jennm149 (Jun 11, 2014)

@ -- feel better! 

Crazy travelling will do that to you.  Make sure you get plenty of liquids, and sleep when you can!!  The worst travel day I ever had was a round-trip from NY to Dallas, but at least it was just one flight in each direction.  I think I was feeling crummy for about 2 weeks after that, so it's no wonder you're a bit run down.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 11, 2014)

Thanks guys!!!


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## tulosai (Jun 11, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I'm not sure if I made this offer here already, but I'll make it now (or again if I've already posted here):  If you would like help with indie makeup (especially fannish loose pigments), just PM me!  It might take me a day or two to get back to you, but that's almost definitely because I'm working on pulling together a list (and maybe even a swatch set, if I have the colors) for you.  Priority will be given to people looking for help for swap recipients, but I'm happy to help anyone!


Just wanted to piggyback off this and say if anyone needs help with indie polish, I know way way way way too much about it and also know where to find fandom polishes for most of the major fandoms and some of the more obscure ones. I am sure some ladies here know more than me, but I am literally at a point where I have to hide how many indie polishes I have when people come to visit me.


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## tulosai (Jun 11, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> So yeah.  I just bought 2 things I think she'll love.  That concludes the $25-ish portion of my gift.  Now to the extras!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Wow good for you! I wish I was that decisive!



sarap said:


> I've read through 1/2 of my gals 60 pages of posts...Think I have a good idea of what I'm going to get, only problem is my list is over well over 20 items :satisfied:


WOW she has a lotta posts!!!


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## meaganola (Jun 11, 2014)

tulosai said:


> Just wanted to piggyback off this and say if anyone needs help with indie polish, I know way way way way too much about it and also know where to find fandom polishes for most of the major fandoms and some of the more obscure ones. I am sure some ladies here know more than me, but I am literally at a point where I have to hide how many indie polishes I have when people come to visit me.


Ooh, blog concept pitch: Polish and Pigment. Each month, a focus on a specific fandom and what is available from which indie!


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## tulosai (Jun 11, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh, blog concept pitch: Polish and Pigment. Each month, a focus on a specific fandom and what is available from which indie!


That's a really neat idea!


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## jesemiaud (Jun 11, 2014)

sarap said:


> :bandit: I signed out and then typed her user name in the search bar and changed the search to member, just to cover my tracks h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Very sneaky!


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## dancersmum (Jun 11, 2014)

@ - feel better soon.

@@SaraP - I tried the whole ninja thing but it wouldn't let me do a member search unless I was signed in....hmmmm..may need to try a different browser but my gal doesn't seem to have that many posts! - I already read everything I could find!


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## button6004 (Jun 11, 2014)

If there's anyone who is an expert on all things skincare, can you PM me? h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> h34r:  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Jac13 (Jun 11, 2014)

@@DonnaD that was fast shopping, lol. I hope I get my buddy today.


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## DonnaD (Jun 11, 2014)

Christa W said:


> LOL that was fast!!!  How long until we can ship??  LOL.  I have to wait to shop for mine until my next pay day, that should give me plenty of time to fuss over what to get her that will be perfect!!






tulosai said:


> Wow good for you! I wish I was that decisive!


  




Jac13 said:


> @DonnaD that was fast shopping, lol. I hope I get my buddy today.


 
I have to act fast or I'll waffle.  I just wanted to get the mandatory portion out of the way so I could get to the really fun part of buying/making extras.


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 11, 2014)

I can't seem to figure out how to view all the posts a person has made. Can anyone help?

Also I viewed the profile of every person participating to throw everyone off. ( I wish we had an evil laughing smiley so I could insert that here haha)


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 11, 2014)

mayra3 said:


> I can't seem to figure out how to view all the posts a person has made. Can anyone help?
> 
> Also I viewed the profile of every person participating to throw everyone off. ( I wish we had an evil laughing smiley so I could insert that here haha)


when you get to the person's profile there's a button on the right hand side (along with the other buttons like "send me a message") that says Find Content. Click that. On the left hand menu you can sort it into viewing topics, viewing topics and posts, or viewing posts only.


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 11, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> when you get to the person's profile there's a button on the right hand side (along with the other buttons like "send me a message") that says Find Content. Click that. On the left hand menu you can sort it into viewing topics, viewing topics and posts, or viewing posts only.


Thank you!!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 11, 2014)

I have a really good idea of things my swapster will like but not very much insight into her personality.  Is it ok to throw out discussion questions?  Here's a few randoms:

What is the last thing that made you smile?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> and/or What is your favorite color/pattern/print?

I'll start with getting my time off approved and anything ombre or quatrefoil.  Also, double whammy because you could be my FGC too B)


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## meaganola (Jun 11, 2014)

Things to make you smile: OMG Have you seen the Dear Kitten ad from Friskies? SO CUTE.


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## tulosai (Jun 11, 2014)

The last thing that made me smile is that the FDA took back it's crazy statement that cheese can't be aged on wood anymore.  Yes, I am a geek.

I also like ombre stuff!  And polka dots!


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## tulosai (Jun 11, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Things to make you smile: OMG Have you seen the Dear Kitten ad from Friskies? SO CUTE.


OMG I LOVED THAT!!!!!


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## jesemiaud (Jun 11, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> I have a really good idea of things my swapster will like but not very much insight into her personality. Is it ok to throw out discussion questions? Here's a few randoms:
> 
> What is the last thing that made you smile?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> and/or What is your favorite color/pattern/print?
> 
> I'll start with getting my time off approved and anything ombre or quatrefoil. Also, double whammy because you could be my FGC too B)


Fun! The last thing that made me smile was finding out my daughter got accepted into the mission trip that she wanted to participate in. And her fundraising efforts are going pretty well!

Fave color combo: this week it happen to be turquoise and red with an ounce of black.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 11, 2014)

tulosai said:


> The last thing that made me smile is that *the FDA took back it's crazy statement that cheese can't be aged on wood anymore*.  Yes, I am a geek.
> 
> I also like ombre stuff!  And polka dots!


omg funny!  This just made me smile again.  Minnesota just outlawed the sale of anti-bacterial soap lol (doesn't go into effect until 2017).


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## lastnite629 (Jun 11, 2014)

Last thing that made me smile - A video of my 2 year old niece.  So stinkin cute.

Favorite color/pattern/print - I love purple &amp; green.  It's a theme throughout our house.  Including purple dishes!   I love polka dots &amp; gingham.


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## rachelshine (Jun 11, 2014)

I gotta say, seeing Eric Cantor lose his primary did bring a smile to my face!! Also, seeing my mail man hand me over a giant pink Meme box this morning was pretty great too! 

Color wise - ombres are super fun! I also like NEON and pastels too, legit I have a highlighter yellow purse staring at me and then a nice pastel lavender one I just picked up too. Pattern wise, I think I pretty much like them all except really stripes, even though I do like chevron prints just not classic stripes.


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## meaganola (Jun 11, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> I gotta say, seeing Eric Cantor lose his primary did bring a smile to my face!! Also, seeing my mail man hand me over a giant pink Meme box this morning was pretty great too!
> 
> Color wise - ombres are super fun! I also like NEON and pastels too, legit I have a highlighter yellow purse staring at me and then a nice pastel lavender one I just picked up too. Pattern wise, I think I pretty much like them all except really stripes, even though I do like chevron prints just not classic stripes.


Are you getting ready for another wild midterm election season? I have a feeling that this year is going to make 2010 look like a mannerly round of discussions.


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## Kelli (Jun 11, 2014)

The last thing to make me smile: My 2 yr old nephew, Keagan. The kid is waaaayyyy too cute and says the funniest things.

Fave Colors/Prints: Aqua/teal/turquoise &amp; yellow, any black and white prints, zebra print, colorful plaids, chevron


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## Babs28 (Jun 11, 2014)

My 5 year old son, Z, makes me smile all the time. But yesterday when I picked him up from pre-k, he was soooo excited to showme the butterflies that "hatched out of their cock-coon" (that was how he said cocoon lmao!) I LOVE butterflies, love love love them and he gets it. He said to me, "mommy, I love you and you love me and butterflies so this is AWESOME, isn't it?" He then told me all he learned about them and finally said, "I told miss Barbara we can't keep them, they belong to nature, just like you taught me!" I nearly cried on the spot. The little bugger HAS been listening to me!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> it was such a sweet moment!!

My favorite colors are pink and yellow but not combined and I'm currently in love with stripes!! I swear half my work wardrobe is striped suit skirts or maxi skirts!!


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## SaraP (Jun 11, 2014)

My Boston Terrier always makes me smile, she's so stinking cute. I love black and white polka dots!

Also if you have a swap list but it's not in your signature line can we post them here??? I want to get my gal everything!!!


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 11, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> I gotta say, seeing Eric Cantor lose his primary did bring a smile to my face!! Also, seeing my mail man hand me over a giant pink Meme box this morning was pretty great too!
> 
> Color wise - ombres are super fun! I also like NEON and pastels too, legit I have a highlighter yellow purse staring at me and then a nice pastel lavender one I just picked up too. Pattern wise, I think I pretty much like them all except really stripes, even though I do like chevron prints just not classic stripes.


Interesting tidbits: My sister used to be his wife's personal trainer.  Also my mom cleaned his house.  They rich folks.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Last thing to make me smile, I get to leave work early for totally legit work reasons, but still leaving early is leaving early.

Color combo: Not very summery but black, gold and white. But I also like the ultra girly black, pink and white.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 11, 2014)

My pug makes me smile. His tail uncurls when he gets tired, which is so cute.

I love polka dots, chevron print, black, white, and aqua, and also anything pink and shiny.


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## sstich79 (Jun 11, 2014)

Last thing that made me smile: these dancing cats. Seriously, I could watch it for an hour.

Favorite pattern/print: umm... whatever catches my fancy? I like a lot of things. Generally cleaner, more graphic patterns as opposed to abstract or overly detailed things, although sometimes I like a good toile. Love quatrefoil. I used to love zig-zags, until they became a HUGE THING that had to be called "chevrons" instead... now they kind of irk me.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 11, 2014)

Keep the discussion questions coming!!!

Last thing to make me smile - I got a job offer yesterday (not gonna take it) but it made me happy to know that someone wants to pay me money to do things!!!

Favorite colors: I really like minty greens and pearly blues (probably not together though) they're such pretty colors!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 11, 2014)

@ Congrats on the job offer! I'm sure many more will be rolling in soon!


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## DonnaD (Jun 11, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> What is the last thing that made you smile? and/or What is your favorite color/pattern/print?


The last thing that made me smile is that "oldest trick in the book" commercial which I think is utterly brilliant.  And the fact that I realised I have a whole pile of $$ in my amazon account from my swagbucks.  Since that doesn't count as real money, I may pick up a pretty expensive (to me anyway) thing my person has listed on their midsummer swap questionnaire.

My favourite colour at this very moment in time is turquoise.  It changes everyday though  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## bonita22 (Jun 11, 2014)

The last thing that made me smile was my two dogs play fighting. They are both under 15lbs and so stinking cute when they act tough.

Colorwise I really green and blue together. I also love colorblocks, ombré, polka dots and florals.


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## Jac13 (Jun 11, 2014)

I love polka dots and paisley prints. Well I also like gardens and butterflies are my favorite. The last thing that made me smile was watching my dog chasing the squirrel in our backyard. What made me laugh was my dog that is in heat humping her teddy bear, lol. She was going at it. It was too funny.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 11, 2014)

Last thing that made me smile: My adorable black and white kitty, and my daily Keurig iced coffee fix   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Patterns, prints, and colors: Hmm, this is tough I like a lot! Red is my favorite color, but I also like greens, blues and purples. Chevrons and polka dots are fun. I think I just don't care for overly detailed florally prints. I haven't had to decorate myself too much so I don't know what I would pick out for myself! I like celtic knot designs, and anything that looks like it's from Morocco or somewhere exotic.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 11, 2014)

I like bright/happy colors.  Bright pink, orange and yellow is a favorite combo at the moment.  I also love turqousie or teal, especially matched with a white pattern.  I do like chevron and ikat.  I also like simple lined patterns.  I also love hearts, they remind me of my daughter.

Smile....hmmm...those have been in short supply the last few days.  But I love the simple, soft smiles you make when you are just in the presence of someone you treasure.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 11, 2014)

Last thing that made me smile. . . the picture my daughter drew of me this morning:  (&amp; for the record, my eyes are crazy, but not THAT crazy &amp; I do not suffer from male patterned baldness.  ha ha ha ha ha.  We're still dying here.  My hubby &amp; I live for her pictures because they're always hilarious!)





Favorite colors &amp; patterns - I'm definitely a coral/teal/aqua combo girl (colors of my wedding 13 years ago &amp; still my favorite) &amp; I'm such a sucker for polka dots, especially in clothes.  I was born in the wrong decade &amp; still dress like a polka dotted queen from the 1950's.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 11, 2014)

Ok next sneaky stalker question for everyone! First name, state/region you live, and favorite food? If you don't feel comfortable sharing, that's fine, but I can think of a ton of gift ideas related to this!

My name is Kelly, obviously since I wasn't very username original when I signed up! I live in Northern California, and my favorite food is either French fries with a dip, or pizza from my favorite San Francisco pizza restaurant. I don't like anything too sweet, but occasionally candy, chocolate, and gummies are ok.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 11, 2014)

I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses. It is putting a smile on my face and keeping me distracted as I patiently wait for my Summerswap assignment  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## marigoldsue (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Mari (as in calamari, not just an odd way to spell mary).  I live in the Kansas City area, a KS side suburb.  Fave foods would be NY style pizza or ice cream.


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## Kelli (Jun 11, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> The last thing that made me smile is that "oldest trick in the book" commercial which I think is utterly brilliant.  And the fact that I realised I have a whole pile of $$ in my amazon account from my swagbucks.  Since that doesn't count as real money, I may pick up a pretty expensive (to me anyway) thing my person has listed on their midsummer swap questionnaire.
> 
> My favourite colour at this very moment in time is turquoise.  It changes everyday though  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I have money in my amazon account  from Swagbucks (and The Pink Panel) and had an order planned to use it, then I signed up for this and decided to hold off and use most of it for my person  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I also have almost enough points on swagbucks to get a $25 Sephora card, so I may cash out for that and again use most/all of it for her.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Dani.  I go by trekkersangel here because my hubby's name is Trek &amp; he calls me his angel.

I live in VA right now.  We're military so we don't really have a "home" we just go where we go &amp; make it our home while we're there.  We've been stationed in UT twice, Germany, CA, &amp; now VA.

I could eat Mexican Food all day long every day &amp; die happy. . . especially guacamole.  But when it comes to desserts I'll always pick mint chocolate chip ice cream.


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## Kelli (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Kelli (obvs...though it'd probably be kind of funny if it wasn't given my screenname). I am from West Michigan.

My favorite foods are green olives (as a child, they were what I would ask for in the store, not candy or cookies or anything, olives), lasagna and Mac &amp; Cheese! For desserts, I like pretty much anything! I have a recipe for Salted Caramel Brownies and they have become a favorite and I love cheesecake! My fave ice cream is Mackinac Island Fudge....I have a feeling it's a very regional flavor and it's something I'd very much miss if I moved away &amp; it wasn't available   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Meagan (my username is a college nickname), and I'm both from and in Portland, OR. I'm going in a different direction than most people with the good thing: Crunchy salty carbs. Popcorn, potato chips, Cheez-Its, Chex mix, etc. An open bag is a soon-to-be-empty bag. (My current snack kick is ranch Crispix mix: one box of Crispix, one melted stick of butter, and one packet of buttermilk dressing mix. Bake at 250 degrees, stirring every twenty minutes or so, until nice and crispy. You should/could probably use less butter, but I'm lazy, and one-of-each is easy.)


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 11, 2014)

meaganola said:


> My name is Meagan (my username is a college nickname), and I'm both from and in Portland, OR. I'm going in a different direction than most people with the good thing: Crunchy salty carbs. Popcorn, potato chips, Cheez-Its, Chex mix, etc. An open bag is a soon-to-be-empty bag. (My current snack kick is ranch Crispix mix: one box of Crispix, one melted stick of butter, and one packet of buttermilk dressing mix. Bake at 250 degrees, stirring every twenty minutes or so, until nice and crispy. You should/could probably use less butter, but I'm lazy, and one-of-each is easy.)


I have been craving all of these snacks, I think my favorite chip that's sometimes hard to find depending on which grocery store I go to, is the Tapatio Lime Lay's. They fueled a drive from my house to Utah, which was about 10 hours. I will always love them for keeping me from being starving and keeping me sane!


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## cg0112358 (Jun 11, 2014)

Last thing that made me smile: My 3.5 year old son put a blanket on his 9 month old sister's back and said "look, mommy, it's super-sissy!" It was just too cute!

Patterns: I don't know that I love patterns so much. I love certain color combinations. I love peaches, golds, browns. I do love peacock patterns, though.

Name: Courtney

State: Louisiana

Favorite Food: Boiled crawfish! It's the end of crawfish season, though  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Christa W (Jun 11, 2014)

Last thing to make me smile was this post! Or was it the Ben &amp; Jerry's Choc Fudge Brownie I was eating while reading???

Fav color combo is hot pink and neon green.

Name is Christa (also not very original) and I live on the West Coast of FL originally from WI though. Cheesehead for life!!!

Favorite food... Might be a shorter if I listed what I don't like... Lol I love Mexican food, BLT's, corn on the cob and sushi to name a few. Oh and I'm a candy addict!!!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Laura, I live in MN (Twin Cities area) and my favorite food is sandwiches! and cookies! and grilled vegetables!


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## DonnaD (Jun 11, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> First name, state/region you live, and favorite food?



My name is Donna (duh), I live in Western Massachusetts and my favourite food is ribs.  Not country ribs (which aren't real ribs) or baby back ribs but the real, big ass slab o' ribs  but not with bbq sauce cuz blech.  I like mine done with a mix of maple syrup, brown sugar and tomato paste and cajun seasoning.   Add in a nice baked potato and Donna is in cholesterol heaven.

Oh gawd, I really shouldn't skip lunch!!


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## DonnaD (Jun 11, 2014)

Kelli said:


> (as a child, they were what I would ask for in the store, not candy or cookies or anything, olives)...............I have a recipe for Salted Caramel Brownies


 
My oldest loved green olives when she was teeny.  She called them "gobble delicious" not olives.  She was a very odd child.

Can you PM me that recipe?


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## sstich79 (Jun 11, 2014)

My name's Sara, and I live in the hometown of the Kentucky Derby. My favorite food... that's tough! So let's categorize a bit: my favorite thing to order in a restaurant would have to be crab legs (even better if they're on a buffet and I can eat approximately two gazillion of them). I also love Mexican and sushi. My favorite thing to cook is farfalle carbonara... Italian in general, really, as long as it doesn't involve olives. I have a horrendous sweet tooth, and my current favorite candy is Starburst jelly beans.


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## DonnaD (Jun 11, 2014)

OOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have one!!!

What one of each of the following would you want with you if you were alone on a deserted island (you can't have your phone/ipod/tablet/computer):

Song

Makeup item

Food

Household product

Game/Hobby

Me:

Bang &amp; Blame by REM

Nail polish

An endless supply of Lindt Classic milk chocolate bars

Downy fabric softener (pink cap)

An endless supply of yarn and some crochet hooks.


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 11, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> My name is Donna (duh), I live in Western Massachusetts and my favourite food is ribs.  Not country ribs (which aren't real ribs) or baby back ribs but the real, big ass slab o' ribs  but not with bbq sauce cuz blech.  I like mine done with a mix of maple syrup, brown sugar and tomato paste and cajun seasoning.   Add in a nice baked potato and Donna is in cholesterol heaven.
> 
> Oh gawd, I really shouldn't skip lunch!!


Aww I lived in Pittsfield


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 11, 2014)

Name: Ann

Location: Coastal VA, half a mile from the beach. I quite literally have a beach chair, towel and umbrella in the trunk of my car.

Fav food(s): Lobster drowning in melted butter, and ice cream and lemon cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting.

I'll have to revisit the other questions later.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 11, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> My name is Laura, I live in MN (Twin Cities area) and my favorite food is sandwiches! and cookies! and grilled vegetables!


When I was typing my favorite food, so many of my thoughts went to food in the twin cities.  Punch PIzza.  Cinnamon rolls from Isles Bun.  Salted caramel macarons from Cupcake Caramel (and many of their cupcake flavors, my daughter thought they made the perfcet vanilla cupcake).  A balsamic chicken pasta dish that no longer seems to be on the menu at Kafe 421.  Mussels at Salut Bar American.  Gnocchi at Tucci Benucch.  Brunch and peanut butter at Hell's Kitchen.  Almost anything at the Midtown Global Market.  Chicken Fingers at Raising Cane's.  I better stop.  I am making myself hungry.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 11, 2014)

Desert island:

Song - I don't know if I could pick one, but a dance song. Something by deadmau5 or Armin van Burren

Makeup item - Lip balm

Food - I feel like I could probably tackle cooking anything that's on the island, so I would say Kosher salt

Household product - Sunscreen (I'm just trying to sneak in lip balm and sunscreen because I'll definitely need both on a desert island)

Game/Hobby - If I can't have my phone, then my 3DS, plenty of games to keep me occupied. Or my Kindle. I love my gadgets. I don't want to give them up!


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## Christa W (Jun 11, 2014)

Hmmm. Donna has my brain working overtime on this one...

Song: Illusion - VNV Nation

Makeup Item: My entire polish collection!!!

Food: I'm going to go with something similar to Kelly and say Tajin. It's a lime and chili spice I live for. I'm also assuming I will cooking some fish and eating fruit.

Household Product: Lysol foaming soap. I love that stuff. I especially like the lime scent.

Game/hobby: this one is particularly tricky. No pc or electronics... I think I'd want some coloring books and crayons. And a few pencils and paper.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 11, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> Ok next sneaky stalker question for everyone! First name, state/region you live, and favorite food?


I'm Nikki. 

Currently living in West Virginia, but originally from Arkansas. Hubby was in the military so we moved to his home state after he separated from the Air Force.  

Favorited food?  Oh, that's a tough one. Fried chicken and potatoes in any form! lol  I prefer salty snacks.  Chex Mix, Cheez-Its, chips, etc.  LOVE any kind of sour candy.


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## Kelli (Jun 11, 2014)

This is tough:

Song: "Kennedy" by Kill Hannah It's dance-tastic  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Makeup Item: A foundation that contains SPF

Food: Greek Yogurt, it's delicious and has lots of protein and calcium, which might be hard to find on an island

Household product: Toilet Paper  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Game/Hobby: Canasta -if I have another person on the island to play with me- markers and paper if I'm stranded alone


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## tulosai (Jun 11, 2014)

Song: Ugh right now? Hey Jealousy by Gin Blossoms. In 5 minutes? Something different.

Makeup Item: Sunscreen.

Food: Guacamole. 

Household product: Agree about the Toilet Paper   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Game/Hobby: BOOKS!


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## SaraP (Jun 11, 2014)

Sara, my user name is a nick name I was given bartending. P for personality, which may have been a insult but I'm the kind to run with things!

*P ended up being my last name so it still works :smilehappyyes: and was maybe fate...

So Cal. Which for me is perfect,1 hour to the beach, desert and mountains. 

No way to pick just one food, but IF I could only consume one thing during a day I'd pick Iced Coffee! In fact this happens some days.


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## SaraP (Jun 11, 2014)

Song - That's hard to pick just one...So anything by Billy Holiday

Makeup - Foundation or a lippie

Food - That's hard too...Can I steal @kellysilva idea and say I can cook almost anything, so spices

Household product - soap

Game - deck of cards


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## DonnaD (Jun 11, 2014)

sarap said:


> Sara, my user name is a nick name I was given bar tending. P for personality, which may have been a insult but I'm the kind to run with things!
> 
> *P ended up being my last name so it still works :smilehappyyes: and was maybe fate...
> 
> ...


Personality, ha!  I used to work at a garden center where one of the guys started calling me Hollywood because I always wore hats and sunglasses (also dresses because I despise pants oh so very much.)   It stuck and I still randomly run across a co-worker from there and hear, "Hey!  Hollywood!" from across a parking lot lol.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 11, 2014)

Song - Everlong by the Foo Fighters.  Pretty much any of their songs. 

Makeup item - Sunscreen. Does that count?

Food - Peanut butter was the first thing that came to my mind. lol  I figure there will be fruit of some sort on the island and I can always catch fish. 

Household product  -  Soap! 

Game/Hobby - Knitting needles &amp; yarn.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Christina and I live in Florida. My all time favorite food is probably ice cream!

Desert island:

Song - Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind.

Makeup - Black mascara

Household product - Anti-bacterial hand soap

Food - Cheetos

Hobby - A good book


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## rachelshine (Jun 11, 2014)

Name - Rachel (we are very original here ladies  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)

Location - Arizona! 

Food - Mexican, all day every day. I also super love spicy food. And sour candies, nom nom nom. I am not really the biggest chocolate girl, I know weird, but give me all the sour candies ever. I always love trying other state/regions local delicacy though. Umm Old Bay Spice anyone??


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## lastnite629 (Jun 11, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Name - Rachel (we are very original here ladies  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)
> 
> Location - Arizona!
> 
> Food - Mexican, all day every day. I also super love spicy food. And sour candies, nom nom nom. I am not really the biggest chocolate girl, I know weird, but give me all the sour candies ever. I always love trying other state/regions local delicacy though. Umm Old Bay Spice anyone??


A girl after my own heart.  Love sour candies.  Not big on chocolate.   For my b-day last year, Mom sent me a box full of all kinds of different sour candies. Best.Gift.EVER.  /emoticons/[email protected]2x.png 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## sstich79 (Jun 11, 2014)

For the desert island, I feel like I'm about to do a lot of repeating...

Song: Tough call, since anything will get old quickly. Let's say "Seven Bridges Road" by the Eagles.
Makeup: Lip balm (with SPF) or I'll go nuts!

Food: Pepper for cooking all that seafood I'll catch, and I'll be creative and evaporate seawater to get the salt!

Household product: Soap. (was going to say TP, but if I'm alone I'll just wash off in the ocean. With my soap.)
Hobby: "Puzz 3D" puzzles... they'll keep me busy and then I can "decorate" with them for a while.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 11, 2014)

OHH me me! Jessica. Originally from Sacramento CA but in Milwuakee for school (haven't been home in 5 years though). Food... Hmm I'm DEFINITELY a sweets person. French macarons, crepes, candy... All that. Right now i have a strange desire for Chicago mix popcorn (cheesey and caramel popcorn together). Real food wise, love pizza. I think I make a pizza related FB status update or Instagram post each week.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 11, 2014)

Awesome question!

Song- jimmy buffet Margaritaville or maybe some Queen haha

Makeup- I really would not want any without all of my "supplies" for cleaning and removing it. Just please give me toothpaste! Preferably something fancy since I won't have much else.

Food- I'm going to assume that the island has coffee I can harvest and say breakfast burritos (homemade with smoked Gouda and sausage not fast food!)

Household item- a blanket. I can't sleep without a blanket on me and I'm always cold, even when it's like 90. Or maybe my bug zapper because desert island probably have some pretty gnarly bugs.

Hobby- I would love a kayak so i could paddle around all day exploring the island  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## bonita22 (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Claudia and I live in the outskirts of Phoenix, AZ. I love spicy food, the spicier the better. In my family, I'm known for adding cayenne pepper to almost everything especially fruit. Some people think it's weird but my favorite snack is cucumber with cayenne pepper and lemon.


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## BSquared (Jun 11, 2014)

I love learning so much about people!!

The last thing that made me smile was a really sweet email from my grandma telling me belated happy birthday and how proud of her grand kids she is (3 of us have birthdays the same week so she sent it to all of us). It was sweet.

Favorite print/color is pink and chevron. Color combo is probably black and white and pink.

My names Brittany. BSquared because my last name is B too!

From Minneapolis aka frozen hell (a friend of mine from TX called it that once and I find it fitting so it kind of stuck).

Favorite food is cereal!! Pretty much any kind as long as it doesn't have raisins in it. Raisin Bran needs to go extinct.

Favorite song: I can't pick. I love really, really, really bad pop music. I'm obsessed with Britney Spears. I cried (legit cried) when NSync reunited. You may judge me. I have no shame.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 11, 2014)

@@Lolo22 Oooh I want a Kayak too! Great idea!



bonita22 said:


> My name is Claudia and I live in the outskirts of Phoenix, AZ. I love spicy food, the spicier the better. In my family, I'm known for adding cayenne pepper to almost everything especially fruit. Some people think it's weird but my favorite snack is cucumber with cayenne pepper and lemon.


That sounds delicious! *Rummages through fridge for a cucumber* 

And now I want to amend my household item for a knife instead. How else am I going to cook anything with my salt!?


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## BSquared (Jun 11, 2014)

Wait there's more questions!!

Desert island food: cinnamon toast crunch

Household item: toilet paper. Me and the outdoors don't really get along so I don't think I could live without that

Game: a deck of cards. Then I could play various stuff. Or learn magic tricks or something lol


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## BSquared (Jun 11, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> When I was typing my favorite food, so many of my thoughts went to food in the twin cities. Punch PIzza. Cinnamon rolls from Isles Bun. Salted caramel macarons from Cupcake Caramel (and many of their cupcake flavors, my daughter thought they made the perfcet vanilla cupcake). A balsamic chicken pasta dish that no longer seems to be on the menu at Kafe 421. Mussels at Salut Bar American. Gnocchi at Tucci Benucch. Brunch and peanut butter at Hell's Kitchen. Almost anything at the Midtown Global Market. Chicken Fingers at Raising Cane's. I better stop. I am making myself hungry.


Annndddd now I really want some punch pizza. And peanut butter from HK. And some chicken fingers. And a samosa from holy land in global market. I'm so hungryyyy.


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## Christa W (Jun 11, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> My name is Claudia and I live in the outskirts of Phoenix, AZ. I love spicy food, the spicier the better. In my family, I'm known for adding cayenne pepper to almost everything especially fruit. Some people think it's weird but my favorite snack is cucumber with cayenne pepper and lemon.


That sounds so delicious!


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## wadedl (Jun 11, 2014)

Last thing that made me smile was my 11 year olds reaction to the library having a lego reading club.

My favorite colors are currently radiant orchid and tiffany blue.


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Mayra, I live in NYC &amp; I love all types of food! The one thing I love trying different versions of is buffalo wings lol. I also love all types of sweets &amp; my favorite type of food is probably Italian. Chicken parmigiana, chicken Alfredo, penne alla vodka are some of my favorites.


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## jennm149 (Jun 11, 2014)

I'm Jenn and I live in NJ. The last thing that made me smile was on my way home tonight, when I saw a calf laying in a field curled up like a kitten, scratching an ear with one of his back feet.

I like paisley and plaid, in jewel tones.  Mac and cheese (baked homemade) is my favorite food.

I'm not a big music listener, so IDK on song. I'd like bug repellant sunscreen, spices (either cinnamon or Penzey's Ruth's Muskego Ave blend) and books with me on a desert island.


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## sstich79 (Jun 11, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> I'd like bug repellant sunscreen, spices (either cinnamon or Penzey's Ruth's Muskego Ave blend) and books with me on a desert island.


Oh, good call! I hereby change my "soap" answer to "bug repellent." I HATE bugs. And maybe for my hobby, I need to bring my battery-operated bug-zapping tennis racket instead of puzzles... I can get exercise AND avoid bugs!


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## valeried44 (Jun 11, 2014)

Oh my goodness!  I was away for 3 days for work and was hardly able to connect to the internet (even at work), so I've been catching up.  

Let's see if I've got all the questions... 

Last thing to make me smile:  My dog greeting me when I came home tonight.  It's always nice to have someone/something so excited to see you that they just can't help but to jump up and down, and yip, and carry on.  

My favorite colors are purple always and teal, and coral for summertime.  I'm not much of a pattern kinda gal, but I do like chevrons and strips and tend to shy away from most florals.  

I'm Val (or Valerie).  I live in northern Iowa.  Favorite foods?  I love sweets - just about anything sweet.  Oddly, I don't like the combination of sweet and other flavor types most of the time (as in chicken with a fruit sauce or glaze or fruit mixed with vegetables in a salad or maple bacon).  

On a deserted island, I'd have to have my lip glosses/balms, Puffs Plus tissues (I'm sure my spring/summer/fall allergies would act up there too), and a stack of books.  I'm not sure if there is a song that I would care to have playing over and over, though I do like music of all kinds.  The only music I don't like is heavy metal - I always feel like they are screaming at me and I don't really like people screaming at me.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## CurlyTails (Jun 11, 2014)

Hoping to get my person soon! I have a Sephora order that I am waiting to open which just may have some goodies for my gal, depending on who she is  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## CurlyTails (Jun 11, 2014)

I'll throw out a question for everyone - what scent brings back happy memories for you? I love the scent of vanilla. It reminds me of baking at Christmas time. I bake massive amounts of cookies during the holidays and put together tins to give out as gifts. Last year I made about 15 different kinds. I also like the smell of pumpkin spice because it reminds me of the fall and Halloween.


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## SaraP (Jun 11, 2014)

My all time favorite smell in the world is Coconut Fig Leaf from Caldera. I think it maybe the best smell in the world!

*Did I happen to mention the best in whole wide world??? Yeah I like this a lot!


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## sstich79 (Jun 11, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I'll throw out a question for everyone - what scent brings back happy memories for you?


Hmm... I really don't have a lot of scent-specific attachments, except for my mother's Giorgio Beverly Hills and my dad's Old Spice. I dearly love the smell of coconut / pretty-smelling suntan lotions (like Hawaiian Tropic) because those scents remind me of the beach, though!


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## Kelli (Jun 11, 2014)

At first I couldn't think of anything scent-wise, but I guess Aqua Velva aftershave reminds me of my grandpa and Irish Spring bar soap reminds me of my grandparents because it's what they always had at the their bathroom sink.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 11, 2014)

I don't know if any scents are strongly related to memories for me, but I love the smell of jasmine. And I've been especially loving mint lately.


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## BSquared (Jun 11, 2014)

Perfume wise, Estée Lauder Beautiful will forever smell like my mother and I love it. Old Spice smells like my grandpa. Both of those just make me happy!

Coconut is my favorite non-brand specific scent. It reminds me of summer and the beach and my wedding (we got married on a beach in the Caribbean)


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## heath67013 (Jun 11, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> OOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have one!!!
> 
> What one of each of the following would you want with you if you were alone on a deserted island (you can't have your phone/ipod/tablet/computer):
> 
> ...


Ahh...I'm behind on the threads again. This is a great question!

Song: Happy by Pharrell

Makeup Item: Facial Cleanser or Sunscreen

Food: Fruit!

Household Product: Soap

Game/Hobby: An unlimited supply of books


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## heath67013 (Jun 11, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I'll throw out a question for everyone - what scent brings back happy memories for you? I love the scent of vanilla. It reminds me of baking at Christmas time. I bake massive amounts of cookies during the holidays and put together tins to give out as gifts. Last year I made about 15 different kinds. I also like the smell of pumpkin spice because it reminds me of the fall and Halloween.


I'm with you on the vanilla or just baked goods scents. It reminds me of my grandma baking. Another one that brings back memories is the smell or Emeraude perfume. Not sure I spelled that right? Does anyone remember that? My mother use to wear it when she was alive. I haven't seen it around in years. Loves Baby Soft was another one she wore.


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## chelsealady (Jun 11, 2014)

If you are trying to stalk me I promise I'll catch up in the next couple of days.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Maria (my screen name is the first three letters of each of my girls' names JESsica, EMIly and AUDrey. I live in Columbus, OH and wow...I can't even think of my favorite food. I love food, lol. I'm a big fan of steak, seafood and of grilled veggies. I have a lot of food allergies, so I try to keep it simple and no processed foods.

Desert island questions:
Song - The Collective works of Bon Jovi
Makeup - Lipstick
Household product - Antibac Wipes
Food - Ugh...how do I choose. How about a side of beef and a freezer to keep it in.
Hobby -  Yarn and knitting needles. Or books...tough decision.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 11, 2014)

The smell of German Christmas markets. I don't know if its the cinnamon, the apples, the nuts, or the fried food, but all combined it's the smell of a Christmas market. It brings back the memories of living in Europe.

On a deserted island I wouldn't want a song but I'd sure want my piano there so I could play all the music I wanted to!

I'd want deodorant (even over soap or toilet paper). Ugh. I can't imagine how bad I would smell on a deserted island! Ha ha ha.

I'd take some colored lip balm, probably a Starlooks tendergloss as my make up must have.

And I'd bring some cards to play solitaire if I'm by myself or a bunch of board games if my family was with me!

It would be nice to have a blue police box on the island too. ;-) just so I could get away when I felt like traveling.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 11, 2014)

For scent it would have to be the old Avon perfume called Somewhere. It was god-awful, but my grandma loved it and wore it always. I would love to smell it again on her. Miss her.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 11, 2014)

OMG! I got my girl! So excited to stalk!


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## Babs28 (Jun 11, 2014)

Everyone should have their Swap Buddy by now. I just finished sending out the last of the PMs.  More detailed information with full name, address and allergies, etc.will be sent out over the next several days.  We have a crowd of 52!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  If you have not received you Swap Buddy's name, please PM me ASAP! 

Don't forget to use our Roadies if you want to ask questions.  The link to that thread will be in my signature shortly. 

I'm also going to create a separate thread to individually list each Buddy and a link to their Summerswap Wish List.


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## ashleylind (Jun 11, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> I gotta say, seeing Eric Cantor lose his primary did bring a smile to my face!!


Oh man. That made me smile so hard. I heart politics.

My niece will be born within the next 2 weeks, and so I've been talking to my 2-year-old daughter a lot about how Baby Charlotte is in her mommy's tummy right now. My daughter informed me that Hello Kitty was also in her tummy. Toddlers are amazing.

I have an unhealthy obsession with houndstooth.


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## Babs28 (Jun 11, 2014)

Let's see if I can answer the questions posted so far from memory.

My name is Barbara. I live in NJ but have also lived in New Orleans, SoCal (I was stationed there while in the Marine Corps) and Pennsyvania. My favorite food....hmm. that's a hard one. I LOVE souffle. I think that is my absolute favorite thing ever. I also love crepes,  Boiled crawfish but only from New Orleans or the surrounding area, boudin (white, not red), filet mignon, turkey necks and collard greens, cucumbers (cut up, or in my water bottle), lobster and naan with cucumber sauce. Those are standard favorites.. then I have favorites by mood but I'll spare you the list.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

On an island:

Song: I couldn't narrow it down to one song....Right now? Brainless by Eminem. In an hour? Circle by Edie Brickell, Tomorrow, something else...

Makeup: Mascara

Household product? Matches to start a fire.  I'm good with taking care of everything else (thank you bootcamp)

Food Item: No idea, I don't really cook.  An endless supply of fresh bread?

Hobby: And endless supply of books.  I love to read. I would die of boredom without books alone on an island.

As for scents, I don't really have anything specific I can remember other than my mom's Opium perfume and my dad's Old Spice aftershave.  Everything else just kind of "hits" me when I smell it. I love lavender though.  That scent always makes me happy.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Maybe my island could have a lavender field!!!


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## emilylithium (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Emily, and I live in NH. My favorite scent is lavender/violet/lilac, seems like anything purple for me!

Song: don't know, is a music player included? lol

Makeup item: sunscreen, but if you don't count that, then a moisturizer

Food: pizza, only because there are so much variety to it

Household product: a bed with canopy

Game/Hobby: books


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## ashleylind (Jun 11, 2014)

My name is Ashley, and I'm in the Kansas City suburb Overland Park. As for food, dark chocolate with orange in it, is my absolute favorite! I am also addicted to brussel sprouts with bacon. Yum!

______________

Dessert island...

Song: Errr...can I cheat and do a podcast? I love Stop Podcasting Yourself

Makeup item: sunscreen

Food: chocolate (assuming it's an island with lots of fruit)

Household product: toilet paper

Game/Hobby: All the books!

I would also take a blue police box for traveling, as long as it's a Dalek-free adventure.

______________

 
The smell of pine trees triggers the most memories. My godmother's parents used to own a Christmas tree farm, and I loved going out there and helping them out during the holidays. Walking around their huge plot of land and getting lost in the trees was also amazing.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 11, 2014)

Desert Island...

lotiony tissue - like puffs. cosmetic item would definitely be moisturizer because i have really dry skin (second necessity = lipstick). music i'd probably do something by the decemberists. Oh, and if the world was perfect - an endless supply of Crispy M&amp;Ms. They stopped selling those (and manufacturing) them in the US some years ago but they're still available in European markets. My coworker just sent me a large bag of them - I'm just going to be honest and let you all know that i had a few good handfuls instead of dinner.

scent...I'm not really a scents person. Jean Nate reminds me of when I would take baths at my grandma's. White Diamond perfume is also associated with my grandma. I love the smell of BBQ or grilling because it reminds me of delicious food  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

@@jennm149 - love that you picked penzeys. gotta love the wauwatosa, wisconsin shout out right there.


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 12, 2014)

Here's another question for you all, how do you feel about snacks as extras? Chocolate, gourmet popcorn, etc. I know some people are opposed to chocolate because of temperature issues.


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## Christa W (Jun 12, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @@jennm149 - love that you picked penzeys. gotta love the wauwatosa, wisconsin shout out right there.


Haha!! My sister in law keeps trying to bribe my boyfriend into marrying me by saying she will buy us all Penzey spices as a wedding gift!!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 12, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Haha!! My sister in law keeps trying to bribe my boyfriend into marrying me by saying she will buy us all Penzey spices as a wedding gift!!!


and he hasn't taken the bait?! whats wrong with him. i'd marry you for all the penzey's spices!!! but seriously, when i walk into the spice house its like GOOD BYE MONEY.


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## DonnaD (Jun 12, 2014)

As far as nostalgic scents...mine would have to be eggs frying in butter.  It's a grandma thing.  As far as personal taste, I like florals but one of my favourites for candles and the like is sandalwood vanilla.

And snacks...I love milk chocolate.  GOOD milk chocolate.  My new fav is Godiva salted caramel bars.  It's not really caramel but toffee bits.  I can't remember exactly what it's called.  I HATE gummies and sour candies.  I like popcorn, caramel corn, turtle chex mix, cheese balls and the like.


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## Babs28 (Jun 12, 2014)

Snacks as extras?  It depends on the snack.  I'm not a fan of salty snacks but I love handmade marshmallows (think PS box), Cream filled belgian chocolates, fudge pralines and locally sourced favorite chocolates (milk only) or other specialty that isn't super sweet but super decant with cream!!! MMM!!!


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## wadedl (Jun 12, 2014)

I like spicy foods. I put chili powder, chamoy or hot sauce one so many things.

I don't generally like florals but Arquiste Flor y Canto from BB smelled really good. My favorite perfume I own is Angel. I am very picky with scents.

I would need my Fresh Sugar Plum Lip Balm and sunscreen on a dessert Island.

I would want chocolate or trader joes chili lime nuts and would need a blanket to cover my feet when I sleep or I would never sleep. My hobby would be painting.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 12, 2014)

mayra3 said:


> Here's another question for you all, how do you feel about snacks as extras? Chocolate, gourmet popcorn, etc. I know some people are opposed to chocolate because of temperature issues.


YES. Grabby hands! I will eat everyone's melted chocolate. I like caramel, chocolate, gummies, chewy candy, crunchy snacks, chips, popcorn, all of it. Even better if it's a local thing I couldn't try otherwise. I also like anything spicy. I put Sriracha in almost everything I cook, the spicier the better.


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## dancersmum (Jun 12, 2014)

Name - my fav people just call me "M" as I don't like my name lol  - right now I live in Asia but I've lived all over the place 

Song - impossible to choose...

Makeup item - hmmmm this is hard one - my imaginary island will have coconuts on it so I guess I could access coconut oil lol...so I will say sunscreen

Food - I love food so this is impossible - I love sushi, fresh cherries that are sweet &amp; juicy, nectarines, salted caramel dark chocolate ice cream, raspberries...sigh...now I'm hungry - chocolates from my favorite places...(shop in London)

Household product - a good set of knives or a solar powered light or 

Game/hobby  - an endless supply of books 

smells - the smell of xmas baking being done - or the smell of one of my favorite meals being made!


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## sstich79 (Jun 12, 2014)

mayra3 said:


> Here's another question for you all, how do you feel about snacks as extras? Chocolate, gourmet popcorn, etc. I know some people are opposed to chocolate because of temperature issues.


Chocolate would probably not survive an hour in my southern mailbox! Just as well, because while I love sweets, chocolate is pretty low on the list. I'm down for other snacks, though... I put a couple of "dislikes" in my survey thingamajig, flavors I don't like, but other than that, I wouldn't be opposed to trying whatever my person's favorites are!

Throwing another question into the mix: favorite band, movie, book? Mine: JJ Grey and Mofro, "The Princess Bride," and "Beach Music" for fiction / "The Devil in the White City" for non-fiction.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 12, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Throwing another question into the mix: favorite band, movie, book?


Band: The Black Keys

DJ: Armin van Buuren

Movie: Tough choice, I'm more into TV shows, but High Fidelity is up there. One of those movies I show everyone I know.

Book: I have a lot of favorite series (A Song of Ice and Fire, Jessica Darling, Dragon Tattoo, Kingkiller Chronicles, Anita Blake, Bobby Dollar, Georgina Kincaid, Arcana Chronicles) but childhood favorite The BFG, recent favorite was Ready Player One, favorite non-fiction is probably The Seven Daughters of Eve (which is my inner anthropology and science nerd book).


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## valeried44 (Jun 12, 2014)

Lilacs remind me of the house I grew up in.  We had lilac bushes in the backyard (where our swing set was) and every time I smell them I think of playing in the backyard.  Rose Milk lotion reminds me of my grandmas' house.  She swears she has never used rose-scented anything, but there is just something about that lotion that smells like her house.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 12, 2014)

Snacks: yes! Chocolate will probably melt but that won't stop me from eating it! I am one of those people who will eat anything given to me. I must not have taste buds or something because I don't know of anything I don't like!

Favorite musician: John Williams the composer. (Yes I'm a classical buff). He is the most amazing modern musician ever.

Favorite Book: Daddy Long Legs - if you haven't read it, go get it! It's an oldie but it's timeless &amp; so sweet. (It's young adult literature &amp; it is just a good feel good book.)


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## Babs28 (Jun 12, 2014)

My all time favorite band is Tool and I love Billy Joel. 

My favorite movie is Flight of the Butterfly.  I couldn't choose just one movie for fiction - Desperately Seeking Susan (for the memories associated with it with my very best friend since I was 3), Grease (yes, I am a dork), Rocky Horror Picture Show (but only in the theater with audience participation), Clerks and Mr Holand's Opus.

Favorite Book - The Harry Potter series, specifically the last 3.


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## Babs28 (Jun 12, 2014)

I have another question.  You just won a $1,500 gift certificate to ONE store.  What store would you shop at, what would you buy and why?


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 12, 2014)

I love any and all snacks!

Band: the decemberists (and 100 others)

Movie: oooohhh.... Royal Tennenbaums.

Book: Crime and Punishment

$1500 gift card- probably Crate &amp; Barrel or CB2 ! I would go nuts!!!


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## kawaiisofoxy (Jun 12, 2014)

I know this was asked a few pages ago, but I wanted to share my (lazy) recipe for salted caramel brownies.

1) bake brownies from a mix. I do the "fudge" rather than "cake" recipe, and knock a few mins off the bake time so they're nice and gooey.

2) put a brownie on a plate and pour some Smuckers caramel sauce on top. Yep, the ice-cream topper.

3) sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top. You can get fancy with it, but I just got the store brand from Food Lion. Use sparingly, you can always add more.

And there you go! Easy.

(Now picture me dropping the mic and walking away while Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" plays)


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 12, 2014)

magicalmom said:


> I know this was asked a few pages ago, but I wanted to share my (lazy) recipe for salted caramel brownies.
> 
> 1) bake brownies from a mix. I do the "fudge" rather than "cake" recipe, and knock a few mins off the bake time so they're nice and gooey.
> 
> ...


Drooling!!!!


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## tulosai (Jun 12, 2014)

Mkay to try to catch up:

Nostalgic scents: sugar cookies, the ocean, and lily of the valley. Not together  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I feel VERY POSITIVELY about chocolate and other melty things being sent to me.

I live in D.C. but Chicago is home. I've also lived in Upstate NY, Paris France and in Germany.

$1500 gift card I'd honestly pick trader joe's and use it over several months to feed myself cause I'm practical like that. Or else somewhere to expand my work wardrobe.

Books: love Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde. Fave book is probably le petit prince.

Movies: casablanca.or gone with thw wind or the princess bride or love actually.

Music: queen and Mozart


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## Lolo22 (Jun 12, 2014)

Oh my you ladies have been busy while I was sleeping!  Ok,

Smell - either cinnamon &amp; cloves or the smell of my bf's sweatshirts lol.  Also freshly shampooed hair is divine  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Those all make me think happy thoughts.

Snacks - yes don't worry, my front step is shady.

Band - RHCP or Seether.

Movie - Vegas Vacation!  Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid!  It doesn't get any better.

Books - I don't read, it makes my brain hurt.  My job involves so much reading I just can't feel enjoyment doing it.  I do like to read Consumer Reports though.  God, I feel like a nerd saying that!

$1,500 - Ashley Furniture.  I love buying furniture plus we still need a lot more.  Or Sears so I could get a new washing machine  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jesemiaud (Jun 12, 2014)

mayra3 said:


> Here's another question for you all, how do you feel about snacks as extras? Chocolate, gourmet popcorn, etc. I know some people are opposed to chocolate because of temperature issues.


I love snacks, but I have a lot of food allergies. However, if my swap buddy can find yummy snacks without soy, whey, lecithin, or carob, I'd be down with it. Those are the top allergies that I have to look for when dealing with snacks.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 12, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Throwing another question into the mix: favorite band, movie, book?


These are tough!

Band: Bon Jovi

Movie: The Princess Bride! Best. Movie. Ever! I love it so much that I purchased the entire collection of Dollish Polish for the names alone!

Book: anything by Stephen King or Dean Koontz.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 12, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> I have another question. You just won a $1,500 gift certificate to ONE store. What store would you shop at, what would you buy and why?


Kohls. I love their clothes and they give me regular coupons so I could stretch that bad boy. They also have fun housing goods.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 12, 2014)

I have a question (too soon?)

What makes up your family dynamic? Include animals!

It's me, hubby of 21 years, 3 daughters (19,17,&amp; 15) and 3 cats and 1 dog who is the light of my day, lol.


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## Dashery (Jun 12, 2014)

Wohoo! Yeah! I am ready to shop!

Anyway.

Smell - Rose or lilac. Or cardomum. We do lots of cooking with it during Christmas, so I love the scent.

Snacks - Sure.

Band - SUper Junior!

Movie - I don't think I can pick just one. It'd probably be Howl's Moving Castle. But my favorite movie that I've recently watched would be Pacific Rim.

Books - All of them. Lord of the Rings are my favorite. But seriously, I read everything.

$1,500 gift card: I'd want one to Joann's or fabric.com or something! And it sill wouldn't be enough for me.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 12, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> I have a question (too soon?)
> 
> What makes up your family dynamic? Include animals!
> 
> It's me, hubby of 21 years, 3 daughters (19,17,&amp; 15) and 3 cats and 1 dog who is the light of my day, lol.


This is fun!! Keep it coming!!

In our tiny apartment, it's me and my boyfriend of 3 years this July. No pets yet!

Beyond that, my parents and siblings are scattered around the country but we manage to see each other fairly often


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## tulosai (Jun 12, 2014)

It's just me and my two cats, Darcy and Bingley.  They are the best. I don't even care that I am the crazy cat lady.


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## Christa W (Jun 12, 2014)

Favorite band: VNV Nation

Movie: Return of the Jedi if I have to pick one, the original trilogy if that counts

Book: Too many to count but right now its a comic series called Rat Queens. I am hooked!!!

Shopping spree: If I'm being practical I would love it to be for Save-a-lot grocery store!! Otherwise I would say Kohls also.

My family is my boyfriend and I and our 9 cats, guinea pig, 7 birds, some fish and occasionally my mom lives here too. I had a really cool rat but he passed away 2 weeks ago.


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## Babs28 (Jun 12, 2014)

At my house, it's me, my bf Kevin, (3years last week) who is scandalously younger than I am! Hehe! My son, Z, who is five, lives with me half of the week and lives with his dad the other half of the week. Plus our three cats, Miau (a savannah cat), Baby Miau (her mom is Miau) and Zazzles Cooper, PhD. (Who thinks he's a dog).


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## button6004 (Jun 12, 2014)

Pink is my favorite color!

The last thing that made me smile was one of my kitties (I have 2) playing with the tie on my dress this morning. Silly face.


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## button6004 (Jun 12, 2014)

I have another question. You just won a $1,500 gift certificate to ONE store. What store would you shop at, what would you buy and why?

I would buy all of the colors at Kate Spade.  I am obsessed with Kate Spade.

Smells? I love lemon/citrus smells and beachy smells.

Snacks. I love snacks.  I get angry without my snacks. I particularly like salty snacks.

I live with my husband and my two kitties.


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## BSquared (Jun 12, 2014)

Favorite smell: Cinnamon! I love fall-y scents like apple and cinnamon. Smells like Christmas!! Or coconut, love anything coconut.

Snack: Cheez Its. Or salt and vinegar chips. Ooo or peanut butter M&amp;Ms. I like to eat. 

Movie: Mean Girls or Dirty Dancing! I've seen them both at least 100 times. We honestly watched Dirty Dancing DAILY at daycare when I was about 8. Every afternoon we watched a movie while the younger kids napped. It was always either Grease, Dirty Dancing, or the Making of Thriller Michael Jackson special.

Book: Resurrection by Tolstoy. Or Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. Or the Shopaholic series. Or Catcher in the Rye. Those are probably my faves. I am a study in polarity, that's for sure!

Gift card: Probably Target so I could by practical things like house items, and fun stuff like makeup!

Family: My husband of a year and a half and our old, fat, cranky cat! She really needs to be put on a diet. No kids, don't think we'll have kids. I just don't really like them. I think moms are AMAZING and I'm so impressed but I just don't think it's for us.

Speaking of....Does anyone have any cat diet tips? Our cat is so freaking fat and she's getting old (she'll be 11 in August) but she gets so ANNOYING unless she constantly has food! She meows incredibly loud and sits on top of you every time you sit down unless she has food. This is probably why we'll never have kids....I don't think this "being annnoying? I'll feed you!" idea would work well with a human baby.....


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## Kelli (Jun 12, 2014)

Snacks: Chocolate is good (particularly when combined with peanut butter!!! or caramel) and even though it could be quite hot during shipping time, I'd be fine with getting some. When it comes to snacking I tend to grab either salty stuff (sour cream &amp; onion chips, cheez-its, even beef jerky) or fruity stuff (skittles!!! starburst, gummies, sour patch kids, red vine or red twizzlers etc), over chocolate...but there are just those days when I _*need*_ chocolate  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Favorite Bands: AFI (they are one of few bands where I will buy their album even if I hadn't heard anything from it because I KNOW it will be great. They are consistently awesome) and Kill Hannah (I know the name sounds violent, but I swear it's not that type of music! It's dancey pop rock, like say Placebo, The Faint or Panic! At The Disco)

Favorite Book: Dean Koontz' 'Midnight' he is my fave author and that book is so good, that I have reread it numerous times and love it just as much as the first time.

Fave Movie: It's hard to choose one....Dogma I guess (I love Kevin Smith movies &lt;3) and I still have a soft spot for Mighty Ducks 2  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

If I had a $1500 gift card, my practical side would probably win out and it'd be for Target...if my fun side won, it'd be Ikea (there isn't one near me, but oh how I drool over their catalogues! I want to make a vanity out of one of their shelves so bad!)

My family is crazy. I live with my mom &amp; stepdad, one brother &amp; one sister and her 2 year old son. No pets.(I am in general just scared of being bit/clawed by any animal)  I'm not much of an animal person in general, but we did always have pets growing up.  In total if you count all of my step and half siblings I have 16 total (5 younger, 11 older), but I grew up as the oldest of 4 (my mom's kids). I only see most of those siblings around the holidays (some not even then).


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 12, 2014)

Shopping spree: I can't think of a place with nice furniture and kitchen stuff. Someplace like Sur la Table would be nice. Or I could cheat a little and say Amazon!

Family: I live with my mom and dad at the moment and my one cat Dipper, but bf and I (of 5 years in Sept) are moving in together (again, we have lived together before) at the end of summer when he finishes his grad school quals.


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## ashleylind (Jun 12, 2014)

I love sweet stuff (chocolate, toffee, gummies)! I know the Kansas City heat and humidity would destroy any chocolate received, but that's why freezers were invented.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  And much as I enjoy spices, there's so many I can't have anymore because of sodium levels.

As for the $1,500 – I would go nuts with Kate Spade. I've always loved her, and not just because she's also a KC girl.

My family is made up of my husband, daughter (2 years old), and 2 Westies (6 and 7 years old).


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## Lolo22 (Jun 12, 2014)

It's just me and my bf of 4+ years, plus we added a puppy a few months ago (BT high five to @@SaraP!!).  We bought a house together and circumvented the whole marriage thing.  Not sure marriage or kids are for me but I think I need another dog  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 12, 2014)

$1500 would be spent at Disneyland! Park entrance for my whole family, awesome food at the Blue Bayou, Dole Whips out the wazoo, &amp; Mickey Mouse themed bathroom &amp; kitchen stuff. (I'm slightly obsessed!)

Me: Dani

Hubs: Trek

And my crazy but adorable 6 kiddos. . . (3 girls then 3 boys)

Cadence 11

Lorien 9

Taya 7

Bladen 5

Craiger 3

Canyon 1


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## CurlyTails (Jun 12, 2014)

I love snacks! Chocolate or anything like that would definitely melt, but I'm all for salty snacks of all kinds!

My fav artist is Josh Groban, book is Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, and movie is Legally Blonde. If I had $1500, I might be practical and use it at Target. But impractical would be Lush and I would buy all the things!


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## rachelshine (Jun 12, 2014)

mayra3 said:


> Here's another question for you all, how do you feel about snacks as extras? Chocolate, gourmet popcorn, etc. I know some people are opposed to chocolate because of temperature issues.


OMG *grabby hands* allllll the snacks. Well minus chocolate as Arizona summers = 110+ = melty sadness. But popcorn, heck ya! 



trekkersangel said:


> Snacks: yes! Chocolate will probably melt but that won't stop me from eating it! I am one of those people who will eat anything given to me. I must not have taste buds or something because I don't know of anything I don't like!
> 
> Favorite musician: John Williams the composer. (Yes I'm a classical buff). He is the most amazing modern musician ever.
> 
> Favorite Book: Daddy Long Legs - if you haven't read it, go get it! It's an oldie but it's timeless &amp; so sweet. (It's young adult literature &amp; it is just a good feel good book.)


Giiirl, check out Hello Waffles. She just released  a Musicians Collections based off classical music / composers. It is gorgeouuuuuus. I know this because I bought half of it. (Or you know, your swapper could get some  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)

A $1,500 shopping spree, zomg. Anthropologie. I love everything there, from their clothing to their home decor but am always le poor for it.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 12, 2014)

@@rachelshine I love that Musicians Collection on Hello Waffles, I wish the palette was still in stock though I would have jumped on that in a heartbeat!


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2014)

@@Lolo22 I love Bostons! We (I) researched for months to find a breed that would be a good fit for the fam, we almost purchased a french bulldog but kids need a dog they can play with! I would use my $1500 to purchase a new pup friend for my Zoe and donate the rest to a local shelter. That's what we did when we got Zoe, with a little inheritance money from my husbands Great Grandma.  

*also to everyone about to say we should have adopted



Spoiler



we tried multiple times, 14 applications in all.  Most rescues won't adopt out to fam's with kiddo's, which is weird as children love almost as unconditionally as dogs! Also breed is important to me, not for looks, but personality, temperament and activity level.


*so I have no idea how to insert a spoiler...duh!


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 12, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Favorite smell: Cinnamon! I love fall-y scents like apple and cinnamon. Smells like Christmas!! Or coconut, love anything coconut.
> 
> Snack: Cheez Its. Or salt and vinegar chips. Ooo or peanut butter M&amp;Ms. I like to eat.
> 
> ...


At that age you might want to get her thyroid tested.  Mine is the same way, he's also 11 and LIVES for food.  His whole life he's gotten me up and out of bed at various points so he can eat.  

I've tried everything except one of the the time release food bowls.  His thyroid is fine, blood work is fine, he's on special $50/bag allergy food too.  My vet said some cats just live for food.  

I don't have any kidlets so my cat is my baby, but he's my bf's best buddy.  My cat wants nothing to do with me, except when it times to eat, but he always wants to sit with or on my bf, my bf doesn't even like cats!


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2014)

You also might want to try walking him, I know that sounds weird for a cat to be walked, but with a harness they like it. In college we had a huge cat 17+lbs, who lived for food and humping socks! He got so fat he would waddle to the bowl and lay down, stretch out his paw a pull the bowl to him! Super lazy!! 

We started walking him in the back yard and then around the street. I think he liked the smells and sights...I really think he ate like that because that and the socks were the only things to do.


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## BSquared (Jun 12, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> At that age you might want to get her thyroid tested.  Mine is the same way, he's also 11 and LIVES for food.  His whole life he's gotten me up and out of bed at various points so he can eat.
> 
> I've tried everything except one of the the time release food bowls.  His thyroid is fine, blood work is fine, he's on special $50/bag allergy food too.  My vet said some cats just live for food.
> 
> I don't have any kidlets so my cat is my baby, but he's my bf's best buddy.  My cat wants nothing to do with me, except when it times to eat, but he always wants to sit with or on my bf, my bf doesn't even like cats!


Isnt that how it always goes?!? Im the one that cleans her litter box, I'm the one that feeds her 90% of the time....but she will ALWAYS pick my husband over me.  She's such a brat, good thing she's cute!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 12, 2014)

Oh geez we're doing cute cat stories now? Ok so my cat is really old, but doesn't act a day over 5 years old, and she's always been small. I think she was the runt, and she could probably eat a giant bowl of food everyday and never get fat, lucky brat! Her daily activities consist of demanding to go inside and outside every 10 minutes, she goes outside and rolls around in the dirt, then demands to come back inside. Then she comes inside, scratches her claws on the rug, and perches on a chair we've set in the window for her daily sunning. Then rinse, repeat. In the winter she's more cuddly and sleeps with me on my heated blanket, but summer she wants no cuddles!


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## Babs28 (Jun 12, 2014)

sarap said:


> You also might want to try walking him, I know that sounds weird for a cat to be walked, but with a harness they like it. In college we had a huge cat 17+lbs, who lived for food and humping socks! He got so fat he would waddle to the bowl and lay down, stretch out his paw a pull the bowl to him! Super lazy!!
> 
> We started walking him in the back yard and then around the street. I think he liked the smells and sights...I really think he ate like that because that and the socks were the only things to do.


Miau, my savannah, loves to be walked.  She literally struts when she is out on a walk.  We don't go as often as we used to because the other cats are mean to her when we come back in.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> But they don't like to be walked.  Miau also likes to swim and has jumped in the bathtub with Z more than once. She will also join me in the shower and lay at my feet, if I don't close the bathroom door all the way.


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2014)

I wonder if they are jealous or if she comes back smelling different and that triggers them???


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## CurlyTails (Jun 12, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> Oh geez we're doing cute cat stories now? Ok so my cat is really old, but doesn't act a day over 5 years old, and she's always been small. I think she was the runt, and she could probably eat a giant bowl of food everyday and never get fat, lucky brat! Her daily activities consist of demanding to go inside and outside every 10 minutes, she goes outside and rolls around in the dirt, then demands to come back inside. Then she comes inside, scratches her claws on the rug, and perches on a chair we've set in the window for her daily sunning. Then rinse, repeat. In the winter she's more cuddly and sleeps with me on my heated blanket, but summer she wants no cuddles!


Sounds like my cat, but she is just 3 yo!


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## sstich79 (Jun 12, 2014)

tulosai said:


> It's just me and my two cats, Darcy and Bingley.  They are the best. I don't even care that I am the crazy cat lady.


Right there with you... and I love their names! My two are Penny and Percy, short for Penelope and Perseus (I think I mentioned it when we were talking about dream vacations, but my mom raised me on Greek mythology instead of fairy tales).


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 12, 2014)

My friend is one of 3 certified cat judges in the state. Yanno, for like county fairs and stuff like that. It's mostly little girls who show their cats. He got the gig because he grew up showing animals and his brother worked in some fair office and they were short on judges.

My friend really had little clue what he was doing! He held the cats up simba-style. One of the girls asked why her cat didn't win and he said it was over conditioned (too fat) so she asked how much the cat needs to loose.

Him: how much does it weigh now

Girl: I think like 12 pounds

Him: Eight sounds good!

Girl: ok!

I was DYING when he told me that story. He said he just picked a random number! I can't even lose 4 pounds... How can a cat?!


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2014)

At what age did you become an adult?

I'd say 26, when I found out I was preggers. Prior to that I was living to have fun and was really good at it. After becoming a mom everything changed, now I'm living to be a fun mom...fun, but super responsible. They've nicknamed me the "Hulk", as in you won't like her when she's angry, but they all know if they handle their business life's a party.


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## DonnaD (Jun 12, 2014)

Movie: It's a toss up between The Sure Thing and Pillow Talk

Band:  Pearl Jam...Nirvana, Any band Chris Cornell has ever been in.

Book: I love Judith McNaught's old historical romances.  I loved the Earth's Children series and A Song of Fire and Ice series.

Gift card: Home Goods.  I want to live there!

Family: My husband of 20-ish years, 6 cats, 4 kids but none live with us (thank effin' god).

Cat question:  I feel VERY strongly that cats should not be fed grocery store cat food.  They cannot digest carbs.  They need an all meat diet.  We spend like $300 a month on Wellness cat food for our 6 but I feel like if I have a cat then it's my duty to give them the kind of food they require.  Cats are carnivores.  The little bit of fruit and grain they would get is from the prey  they would eat in the wild.

Dry food will make cats fatter than wet.  Older cats get fat.  Cats with carbs in their diets get fat.  Winter makes cats fat (true story!)

But if you're really worried about her weight, ask the vet.  Just don't let them talk you into feeding Iams or Hill Science diet.  Neither of those is an all meat diet.


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## jennm149 (Jun 12, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> At my house, it's me, my bf Kevin, (3years last week) who is scandalously younger than I am! Hehe! My son, Z, who is five, lives with me half of the week and lives with his dad the other half of the week. Plus our three cats, Miau (a savannah cat), Baby Miau (her mom is Miau) and Zazzles Cooper, PhD. (Who thinks he's a dog).


We also have a cat who thinks he's a dog!  His sisters (our 4 girl cats) do not approve of his uncat-like behavior.  Our boy cat is Proud Baby Mudfoot (Baby, for short).  His sisters are Cinder (who thought her name was "No, no, bad Cinder" for a looong time), Fiona, Stripey and Smokie.  Cinder/Fiona and Stripey/Smokie are "real" sisters.

Other than our cats, it's just me and my husband of almost 11 years.

Smells:  not a fragrance I would wear, but the smell of marigolds and petunias -- both together -- reminds me of my grandmother's backyard in Brooklyn.

ETA: If you'd asked on any other day, I'd say I'd put the $1500 in our Amazon account for movie and book purchases.  Today, I'd try to figure out how I could use the money to pay for repairs to the ceiling in the bedroom that got wrecked yesterday when the emergency drain pan for the central AC unit in our attic overflowed.  I sincerely hope never to see a buckling ceiling in my house again!

We LOVE snacks.  I'm going to be in Chicago next Friday, and I have already had to pinky-swear to remember to pick up some Garrett's Chicago mix popcorn in the airport on the way home.  Glad to see so many Penzey's fans here -- I've been using their stuff exclusively for about 20 years.  I like Spice House too (different "branch" of the same family!), but I guess i just default to Penzey's because they were the first for me.


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## BSquared (Jun 12, 2014)

You know maybe I'll try to take my cat for a walk!!! I let her out on the balcony at our townhouse and she likes it. My only concern is that she's supppperrr scared of strangers (I think she was on the verge of a meltdown when they were re-doing our siding last week and it was loud and people everywhere) so I'm not sure. Maybe I can chase her around the balcony!

@@DonnaD do you have any good cat food recommendations? I just feed her Iams, I didn't know it was bad  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I tried to give her some organic stuff one time (Like Wellness or...something? Not sure, it was expensive, there was a sun on the bag) and she wouldn't eat it.

I love all these cute pet stories!

And when did I become an adult? Still working on that one  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jun 12, 2014)

I think I was the type that was born an adult lol. Serious, perfectionist, over-thinker type. I think I am more youthful acting now than I was as a kid, so I don't have a good answer for this question  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## DonnaD (Jun 12, 2014)

bsquared said:


> @@DonnaD do you have any good cat food recommendations? I just feed her Iams, I didn't know it was bad  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I tried to give her some organic stuff one time (Like Wellness or...something? Not sure, it was expensive, there was a sun on the bag) and she wouldn't eat it.
> 
> I love all these cute pet stories!
> 
> And when did I become an adult? Still working on that one  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


We feed Wellness both dry and canned.  We had to experiment with the canned flavours a bit before we found the ones they liked but they do like it.

Innova is a good one as is Blue Buffalo, Evo and I'm not sure, you have to read the labels but I think some of the canned Fancy Feast are 100% meat.  It's okay if the food says it contains berries but it should never have meal by product, any grain or gluten, bone meal (any word with "meal") and it should always have taurine.  If you feed a homemade diet, you have to buy a taurine supplement.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 12, 2014)

sarap said:


> At what age did you become an adult?


Hah! Who knows, I don't think I'm an "adult" yet. But I guess I'm adult enough to realize and discuss with bf that we are emotionally ready for marriage, but not financially ready. So I guess when I feel "financially ready" for that or just life in general, then I'll be an adult.


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## DonnaD (Jun 12, 2014)

Oh and the best part of feeding an all meat diet to cats?  Their poop no longer stinks.  It's the carbs that makes it stink because they can't digest it.  And their coats become so soft and shiny!


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## rachelshine (Jun 12, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> @@rachelshine I love that Musicians Collection on Hello Waffles, I wish the palette was still in stock though I would have jumped on that in a heartbeat!


Ughh right?! When she first released it, I had one of the "damaged" palettes in my cart, I think the labels were messed up or something, and it went out of stock before I finished stocking my cart *le sob*. 

Our cat is seriously such a non cat. He has ZERO interest in toys or cat nip. While he does enjoy the crap out of treats and a good pet behind the ears, he follows by dad around like a dog. Literally, will run across the house to find him. It's adorable.


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## DonnaD (Jun 12, 2014)

At what age I became an adult...

23.  It's when I had my first daughter and she was born with a genetic autosomal recessive metabolic disorder which causes liver failure, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.  Her first year was a nightmare.  I woke up everyday afraid to look in her crib that I'd find her dead.

She's 28 now and although she will always have the disease, she's doing fantastically well...but that first year was hellish.  My 23rd year was terrifying and I grew up really, really fast.


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## Christa W (Jun 12, 2014)

Mine get Taste of the Wild.


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## Christa W (Jun 12, 2014)

Ill get back to you guys when I grow up. I'm 37 and still feel like I'm not an adult


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## Lolo22 (Jun 12, 2014)

I may do a lot of adult-like things, but I don't intend on becoming an adult anytime soon :laughno:


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## Dashery (Jun 12, 2014)

Ooooh....! I'm crafting some things for my giftee right now. I'm so excited; I hope she loves them! And I've already picked out her beauty items and can hopefully order them soon.  :rotfl: I already can't wait for the reveals!


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## Kelli (Jun 12, 2014)

So, I decided to start going through my stash to see if there was anything I wanted to include for my person and I saw so many things I didn't even realize I had LOL I was inspired to pull a few things out to use myself (plus a pink ipsy bubble mailer full of stuff for her).


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2014)

I use Taste of the Wild for my doggie, the pet food industry is so deceptive in how they label ingredients. Most brands will send you generous samples and my local pet supply (not a petco or petsmart) will take back the product if your pet doesn't like it. I swear my dog eats less food and has less waste because of her food. 

@Kelli My oldest daughter also came out as an adult, I swear she raised herself! We "joke" she is watching Grandma when my husbands mother babysits for us!


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 12, 2014)

sarap said:


> You also might want to try walking him, I know that sounds weird for a cat to be walked, but with a harness they like it. In college we had a huge cat 17+lbs, who lived for food and humping socks! He got so fat he would waddle to the bowl and lay down, stretch out his paw a pull the bowl to him! Super lazy!!
> 
> We started walking him in the back yard and then around the street. I think he liked the smells and sights...I really think he ate like that because that and the socks were the only things to do.


Ha I tried to walk my cat, he HATED the harness, he even refuses a collar.  I wrangled a harness on him and took him outside.  Know what he did? Laid down in the grass and just looked around.  Jerk.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 12, 2014)

He he he. . . . I just friended everyone who signed up for Summerswap.  Now I can stalk all of you easily to throw you all off.  Which one is my real summer swap buddy?  Only time will tell.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## DonnaD (Jun 12, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Ha I tried to walk my cat, he HATED the harness, he even refuses a collar.  I wrangled a harness on him and took him outside.  Know what he did? Laid down in the grass and just looked around.  Jerk.


Cats do what they want not what you want lol.  And that's why I like them.  Dogs are like people...emotionally needy and high maintenance.  I like dogs but I won't have one.  You have to care for them as if they were babies.  Cats love you but they don't _need_ you.  If they had opposable thumbs and could operate the can opener, they wouldn't give a crap if we never came home!

My little ragdoll will walk on a harness but only because I started her on it when she was 6 weeks old.  Same with baths and nail clipping.  She's the only one of our 6 like that but that's because I didn't try with the others when they were teeny.  One we got at 11 months old, two were 4 months old, one was desperately ill so we didn't mess with her and the other was born at our house and he was my husband's job but my husband just liked to hold him and rub his belly instead of doing any kind of training.  

Coco is the only one that's "mine."  All the other kitties are attached to Bill at the hip and only pay attention to me if their hungry.


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## DonnaD (Jun 12, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> He he he. . . . I just friended everyone who signed up for Summerswap.  Now I can stalk all of you easily to throw you all off.  Which one is my real summer swap buddy?  Only time will tell.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I turned off the ability to see who views my profile because I don't want to ruin my fun...or their fun.  I love surprises!


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## Christa W (Jun 12, 2014)

I am probably the worst person to talk to about overweight cats because most of mine are on the chunky side... They have gotten larger being indoors but my biggest problem is that I have so many of them that leave food out all the time so they can come and go as they please.  One of mine is bulimic and will gorge himself and then throw it up immediately.  I can attest to the crying all the time for food but if you give in they know it works.  It might be a pain for awhile but you are essentially encouraging that behavior.  Try the hunt, catch, kill method.  Play with the cat and wear it out then feed it.  I watch my Cat From Hell and am a huge supporter of Jackson Galaxy and he's got a lot of info on that subject.


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## valeried44 (Jun 12, 2014)

So many questions coming out! 

Snacks?  Absolutely!  Sweet or salty - it's all good!

$1500 gift card?  I don't know... maybe a department store where I could buy clothing, accessories, household, and beauty items. 

Favorites?  Band: I honestly don't have a favorite (as in one I would give a kidney to go see in concert), but an unusual one that I really enjoy is Queen.  Movies: Goonies, Grease, My Fair Lady, The Help. Book: No favorites, I just enjoy to read! 

Family?  It's me, my husband, and our beagle Sassy. No children for us, but have plenty of neices and nephews to adore. (two of them are in my profile pic)

Adult?  I've always joked about becoming an adult/growing up at 24 when I began listening to public radio on a regular basis.  I don't watch much TV and have a 1 hour drive to and from work - it's perfect for getting the news and staying connected to the world.


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## Kelli (Jun 12, 2014)

Is anyone really eager to find out who has them?!?! I keep reading everyone else's posts and thinking things like "what a fun answer" or "I like that too!" and then comes "ooohhhh! I wonder if she got me?" Maybe I'm just a weirdo (ok I definitely am  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)

A question I am curious about: What do you use to remove makeup? The cloths/towelette things? A liquid/gel/lotion remover? Soap/regular face cleanser &amp; water? Something else?


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## valeried44 (Jun 12, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> He he he. . . . I just friended everyone who signed up for Summerswap.  Now I can stalk all of you easily to throw you all off.  Which one is my real summer swap buddy?  Only time will tell.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Hello friend!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

Like @@DonnaD, I've turned off my profile views.  I'm not one to peek, but I love to guess!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 12, 2014)

valeried44 said:


> So many questions coming out!
> 
> Snacks?  Absolutely!  Sweet or salty - it's all good!
> 
> ...


I also considered myself an adult when I started commuting to work and listening to NPR!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 12, 2014)

Kelli said:


> Is anyone really eager to find out who has them?!?! I keep reading everyone else's posts and thinking things like "what a fun answer" or "I like that too!" and then comes "ooohhhh! I wonder if she got me?" Maybe I'm just a weirdo (ok I definitely am  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)
> 
> A question I am curious about: What do you use to remove makeup? The cloths/towelette things? A liquid/gel/lotion remover? Soap/regular face cleanser &amp; water? Something else?


I currently use Urban Decay Makeup Meltdown which is like a lotion followed by a Yes To face wipe. I wear a lot of makeup so I need both to look fresh and clean again!


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2014)

I wear a boat load of makeup, so I need to get it all off!

For eye makeup remover I like:

Lancome's Bi-Facial (works great but hate the packaging)

I also have Clinique's Rinse Off (works well)

I just purchased MUFE Sensitive Eyes (Hate it!! Stings my eyes and leave's a mess!)

Facial Cleanser:

Really anything works well for me, but I like:

Philosophy Purity (works well, but $$$ for a facewash)

Neutrogena Foaming Fresh (works just as well)

Paula's Choice (works well but give me a pump please!!!)

Face Wipes:

I have a ton of these, but I use them for travel...not nice leaving a hotels towels a hot mess! Seriously it would be like the maxi pad hand towels from pulp fiction up in there...


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## Christa W (Jun 12, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> He he he. . . . I just friended everyone who signed up for Summerswap. Now I can stalk all of you easily to throw you all off. Which one is my real summer swap buddy? Only time will tell.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Awe!! I thought you just wanted to be my friend!!!

Also I didn't know we could see who looks at our profiles. I won't put of principle anyway!!! I want to be surprised.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 12, 2014)

Kelli said:


> A question I am curious about: What do you use to remove makeup? The cloths/towelette things? A liquid/gel/lotion remover? Soap/regular face cleanser &amp; water? Something else?


I don't wear makeup everyday as I work from home and I don't need to impress anyone, but I've just been using Yes To wipes. I have a weird thing about getting my face wet when I'm not in the shower so makeup remover wipes are great for that. I have also been using the Liz Earle cleanser which I also like because it can be used dry and just rinsed with the damp cloth. And I have a bottle of Bare Face from Julep I need to try that is also supposed to be used dry.


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## ashleylind (Jun 12, 2014)

Makeup remover...

For my eyes, I use Clinique's Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent, and then I use NUXE's Micellar Cleansing Water for the rest. I also have a thing of First Aid Beauty Makeup Remover wipes, but haven't tried them yet. I'd like to find a better eye makeup remover though, as I'm not seeing anything special with the Clinique one.


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2014)

IF you can handle unscrewing a pill bottle type lid every time, I really like Lancome's BI-Facial. It lasts forever and really gets everything off.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 12, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Awe!! I thought you just wanted to be my friend!!!
> 
> Also I didn't know we could see who looks at our profiles. I won't put of principle anyway!!! I want to be surprised.


Aaah Christa W you know I love you!  I love all the ladies on this thread.  You guys are so much fun! I love getting to know you all &amp; I'm surprised at how much we all have in common.  I'm loving all the questions &amp; answers.  So yes, I friended you because I wanted to be your friend too because I think ya'll are awesome!


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## DonnaD (Jun 12, 2014)

Kelli said:


> A question I am curious about: What do you use to remove makeup? The cloths/towelette things? A liquid/gel/lotion remover? Soap/regular face cleanser &amp; water? Something else?


I'm old fashioned.  I use cold cream.  It's cheap and it works. I use it with a buff puff.  So yeah.  I just seriously dated myself, huh?


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## rachelshine (Jun 12, 2014)

PS - all those interested in indies / wanting to get their lady something, Glamour Doll Eyes is having a Flash Sale!! 35% off her Store Envy site until Saturday  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

http://glamourdolleyes.storenvy.com/

EDIT - Forgot to mention, the discount will automatically apply in your cart! So a $6 eyeshadow will show up at $3.90 in your cart, no need for codes! All orders come with samples and I think GWP color of the month too!


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## wadedl (Jun 12, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Favorite band: VNV Nation


VNV Nation has to be my favorite band too! Missed last time they were in town  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> . Too lazy to drive to North County. Got to meet them a few years ago in Pasadena I think, I don't know somewhere in the L.A. area. My husband did some pics of their concert.

Favorite Movie Elizabethtown

My kids have a pet bunny

$1500 gift certificate would be to Nordstrom, they have a great variety and lots of shoes, makeup, skin care...


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## BSquared (Jun 12, 2014)

Makeup removal: purity made simple. That's it. It gets everything off and doesn't burn my eyeballs so that's what I use! If I'm wearing a particularly hardcore mascara I'll go in with koh gen do spa cleansing water to get the rest off


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 12, 2014)

Kelli said:


> A question I am curious about: What do you use to remove makeup? The cloths/towelette things? A liquid/gel/lotion remover? Soap/regular face cleanser &amp; water? Something else?


I use a cleansing oil like Julep's Bare Face or DHL Deep Cleansing Oil (but I hate oils that are mineral oil based--most drugstore versions, or olive oil based--like Origins Cleansing Oil). Then I use a foaming face wash (liquid with a pump) like Caudaile or similar. This has really cleared my skin!


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## Kelli (Jun 12, 2014)

I realize I never answered my own question lol I usually use the cloths, right now I have the Almay eye ones, so off brand ones and some Simple ones. I know a lot of people have issues w/ stinging when using the Almay, but I usually don't...until I rinse my face with water, then my eyes burn. So weird. (but with a coupon, I pretty much got paid to take them out of Walmart, so I will use them up). I am really liking the Simple ones! (I've also been using a sample of their moisturizer and am liking it. I need to try some more of their stuff).

I have some Andrea's Eye Q Makeup Remover Lotion that has a nifty press down top that brings the lotion up and out and I really like the design, but the remover it's self is only ok.


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## jayeme (Jun 12, 2014)

Okay, I am officially joining the obsession and stalking my person! However I have also randomly stalked a few others in this thread...so you'll never know who I'm really for real stalking!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

And to the person who has me: I am working on a list right now, I swear!


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## v0ltagekid (Jun 12, 2014)

Hi Ladies!

I was supposed to come here and chat with u guys a few days ago but i never did, been super busy at work.

I got the name of the person I'm sending the goodies to, but we are still waiting for more info right?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## sstich79 (Jun 12, 2014)

wadedl said:


> Favorite Movie Elizabethtown


I live in Louisville, which is near E-town, and every time I try to watch that movie, I'm like, "He wouldn't drive through the Cochran Hill Tunnel to go from there to there! Why is his hotel all the way back here in downtown Louisville? Kirsten Dunst is saying 'Louisville' wrong! This is horribly inaccurate!" And I can't get past all that to see what I actually think of the movie, LOL!

In terms of face washing, this is one area where I just cannot justify expensive products. It's on your face for literally like five seconds and then it's rinsed away. I use the same stuff I use everywhere else, then spend bigger money on creams and things that are actually staying on my face all day.


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## rachelshine (Jun 12, 2014)

Muahahah, part of my SS shopping is complete!! This is SO fun.


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## cobainrls (Jun 12, 2014)

Okay so let me answer some questions that have been asked: Favorite movie: Dead Poets Society or What Dreams May Come. Fav. food: mexican! I love it all! Fav. patterns: polka dots colors: bright colors but green will always be my fav! My name is Sara and I live in the Midwest!


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## cobainrls (Jun 12, 2014)

Oh fav. bands Nirvana, Sublime, and Kacey Musgraves


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## Deareux (Jun 12, 2014)

I'm reverse stalking. 

I'm going to find out how my stalkers are.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 12, 2014)

So I think that one of the crafts that I was planning when I first signed up will work pretty well for my swap buddy! I will need to pace myself with planning and remind myself that I have lots of time to stalk and shop  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Dashery (Jun 12, 2014)

Deareux said:


> I'm reverse stalking.
> 
> I'm going to find out how my stalkers are.


Hehe. I've been doing that too.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  But I turned off all my settings and such because I don't really wanna know...


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## jayeme (Jun 12, 2014)

Hey guys - if you are trying to find a gift for me, take note! I just made a list! Linked in my signature.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 12, 2014)

Cleansing Routine:

Whatever eye makeup remover happens to be open at the time (currently something from SW Basics)

Whatever cleanser sample I happen to grab from the box (currently Ole Henrikson something or other)

Lol...I'm not picky about how my make up gets off the face. I use wipes when I'm too tired to wash.


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 12, 2014)

So behind!

Song: Into the Wild soundtrack

Makeup: LIP BALM

Household item: yoga mat

Food: Lemons and cupcakes

Game: Deck of cards

Smells/Scents: Lilacs remind me of living in the Northeast

Snacks? Um yes, all kinds too. It'd be really cool to get some local snack or sweets from my swap buddy's home town or state.  Even if it isn't a snack per say, something your area is known for would be awesome. Except popcorn, not that I dislike it but it gets stuck in my teeth and I can NEVER get it out.

Favorite band: Pearl Jam, seen them 10 times or so

Books/movies: Almost always forget about them after I read or see them, ha!

$1,500 to spend anywhere: oh man... Williams Sonoma

Family: Live with my bf and I have one male cat. 

Age I became an adult: I'm still not sure I am, in some ways I am (I manage an office), other ways I live like a college kid (shitty apartment, clothes are never hung up, eat dinner at 9 or 10pm most nights)

Makeup removal: First get as much off with whatever wipes I bought on sale or with a coupon, then I use an oil cleanser to get the rest, then follow up with another round of cleansing or exfoliating scrub. I still could find traces of makeup in the morning.  Maybe I need a clairsonic?


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 12, 2014)

I already have a bunch of stuff gathered up for my swap buddy with a little theme going on. I just wish my buddy had a wish list so I could get her some great makeup items as well!


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## BSquared (Jun 12, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> OMG *grabby hands* allllll the snacks. Well minus chocolate as Arizona summers = 110+ = melty sadness. But popcorn, heck ya!
> 
> Giiirl, check out Hello Waffles. She just released a Musicians Collections based off classical music / composers. It is gorgeouuuuuus. I know this because I bought half of it. (Or you know, your swapper could get some  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)
> 
> A $1,500 shopping spree, zomg. Anthropologie. I love everything there, from their clothing to their home decor but am always le poor for it.


Sweet baby Jesus in the manger....BACH! And MENDELSSOHN OR WHATEVER HIS NAME IS! I need these immediately. Immediately.
Edit: and that green. Oh dear. I paid a significant part of my credit card bill today so I'm trryyyinnngg to be good and shop only for my buddy but they're so pretty!!


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## sstich79 (Jun 12, 2014)

Apropos of nothing, I feel the need to say something. So my mom happened to catch a look at a box of stuff I'd packed up to go to Goodwill, and on top was a home decor thing she'd given me. (I have begged my family not to give me home decor gifts, because I am then obligated to display them even if I don't like them, but they sometimes disregard that request, like when they see ANYTHING that has anything to do with nursing or peacocks.) Anyway, then I had to catch a big ol' earful of, "You're getting rid of THAT?!?" So my point is: dear swappee, if you don't like things I give you, I will not be offended AT ALL if you put them on your trade list. Okay, rant over.

Oh, and I'm 35 and I'm still waiting to feel like a grown-up. I keep thinking that "XYZ landmark occasion" like starting a new career, etc., will make it happen, but it never does. Right now, I'm expecting that I will finally feel like an adult when I actually buy my own home.


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## rachelshine (Jun 12, 2014)

@@BSquared They are seriously gorgeous and apply like butttter!! If you want, I can swatch Bach, Mendelssohn, and Debussy for you!! I obviously have all 3. Not to mention Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and Schubert.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 12, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> So my point is: dear swappee, if you don't like things I give you, I will not be offended AT ALL if you put them on your trade list. Okay, rant over.


Yes! I have a ton of samples that aren't being used around here, and I plan on including a bunch of them in my swapee gift, but I will not be hurt or heartbroken if you swap some of them. I just hope a few become something you will use and maybe even love!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 12, 2014)

Cleansing routine- whatever face wash I'm currently trying to use up. I don't know what I like or what works best but I do love the smell of Noxema  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I love Ultas eye makeup remover and I always buy them 4 at a time when they go on sale.


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2014)

Yes, samples coming out my ears...

*What company or product have you always wanted to try???


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 13, 2014)

sarap said:


> *What company or product have you always wanted to try???


Oh dear this could be a list...

NARS, Makeupgeek, Glamour Doll Eyes - I will soon enough I subscribed to the OTM, Hello Waffles, LORAC, OCC, Kat Von D, Hourglass, YSL, Tom Ford, and Z Palette. No particular product in mind.


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## Dashery (Jun 13, 2014)

Hmmm... I don't know. I want to try all of them! I'm a lipstick junkie, so I figure I'll have to try Tom Ford at some point. But otherwise, I'd like to try out pretty much anything.


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## sstich79 (Jun 13, 2014)

sarap said:


> What company or product have you always wanted to try???


Hmm, I honestly can't think of any particular thing that I've "always" wanted to try... I mean, it would be fun and I'd probably feel really fancy if I had some high-end Tom Ford or Chanel thingamajig, but other than that... I gots nothin'.

A related question, though: _What's one item you lust after but can't get your paws on for some reason (discontinued, only available overseas, etc.)?_

Mine is a nail polish by Happy Hands, which has gone out of business, called "There's Always Money in the Banana Stand." I tragically discovered this indie maker right as she was closing up shop, so I missed out on this perfect-for-me polish. As my ex's weird brother would say, "Sad cries, all days."  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jun 13, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> A related question, though: _What's one item you lust after but can't get your paws on for some reason (discontinued, only available overseas, etc.)?_


I've always wanted to try Kevin Aucoin and more Peter Thomas Roth. I've only tried PTR eye cream and really like it.

My unicorn product....is still in existence! What the heck, I forgot the name so I google image searched and found out they still make it! Aquarelle Eyeliner by Makeup Forever. I thought this had been discontinued years ago  :w00t:


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## DonnaD (Jun 13, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Cleansing routine- whatever face wash I'm currently trying to use up. I don't know what I like or what works best but I do love the smell of Noxema  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I love Ultas eye makeup remover and I always buy them 4 at a time when they go on sale.


I used only noxema to wash my face from the time I was 14 to my mid 30's.  Maybe that's why I have no wrinkles lol!


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## DonnaD (Jun 13, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> What's one item you lust after but can't get your paws on for some reason (discontinued, only available overseas, etc.)?


For me it's various foodstuffs that I used to have in Newfoundland that can't be had here...especially salt beef.  I miss that so much.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 13, 2014)

Lubeck marzipan! I know is food, but boy do I miss it. You can buy marzipan anywhere really &amp; its good, but the lubeck factory in lubeck Germany makes the best marzipan in the world! I miss living in Germany because it was everywhere there. I also lust after German apfelschorle which you can't get here (apple tonic water drink), kinder eggs, &amp; the pineapple gelato from Italy!!!

As for makeup, I really haven't tried that many brands so I want it all. Everything is new to me &amp; I love it all.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 13, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Lubeck marzipan! I know is food, but boy do I miss it. You can buy marzipan anywhere really &amp; its good, but the lubeck factory in lubeck Germany makes the best marzipan in the world! I miss living in Germany because it was everywhere there. I also lust after German apfelschorle which you can't get here (apple tonic water drink), kinder eggs, &amp; the pineapple gelato from Italy!!!
> 
> As for makeup, I really haven't tried that many brands so I want it all. Everything is new to me &amp; I love it all.


I am a total nut for marzipan! So yummy! Still think it is dumb you cannot get Kinder Surprise Eggs in the US because they represent a choking hazard!

I loved the Sue Devitt Quiet and Still powder we got in Glossybox last year, but now it seems the company no longer exists. It was a perfect match for my skin!

I would love to try a YSL lip stain or a drugstore dupe of it.


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## Babs28 (Jun 13, 2014)

I use the UD make up remover for my eye make up.  It's the only think I've found that works and then I use my clarisonic and whatever cleanser I have around.

I've been dying to try the hourglass products, some NARS products, and a few others.

My unicorn items: anything from The Les Merveilleuses by Laduree line.  You can't get this brand in the states without paying a ton of money for shipping, etc. Its primarily available in Paris and Asia!   :scared:   I'm such a sucker for beautiful packaging (and minis) and this line is absolutely gorgeous. But alas, none for me.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I would use it too because I've read rave reviews about the color pay off, quality, etc.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 13, 2014)

I really want to try that YSL Touch Éclat or I saw somewhere there was a drugstore dupe for it but I always forget what it is. I need more light reflecting off my face  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

There is a lot of food I've tried and loved from LWF that isn't sold on their website anymore that I want to buy. I'd have to go through all the boxes and make a list and see where else it's sold and I'm too lazy for that. Oh! And BBW S'mores! Not Marshmallow Fireside. They discontinued it and it was the greatest smell ever!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 13, 2014)

sarap said:


> Yes, samples coming out my ears...
> 
> *What company or product have you always wanted to try???


Ohhh good question...YSL, I think. I love lip products and everyone has been buzzing about their stuff!

What was the other question? Can't Find it --- What food do you want but can't get a hold of?

Two weeks ago I would've said Crispy M&amp;Ms (only sold in Europe) but I JUST got a care package with a jumbo bag of them from a coworker who was over there!!! I'm so happy! That plus Maltesers. So I guess another food would be bomb asada fries from Adalberto's in Sacramento.


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## meaganola (Jun 13, 2014)

Unicorn products:

- Pears shampoo and conditioner. The version from the late '90s. It was reformulated and just wasn't the same, and now it seems to be discontinued entirely.

- Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab March Hare perfume oil. It was abruptly discontinued before I had a chance to buy a backup.

Food:

- A&amp;W diet cream soda! I don't know whether it's discontinued entirely or just in my area. They still have the regular stuff, but I don't drink stuff with sugar aside from an occasional hazelnut mocha.

- I'll join Jess on the crispy M&amp;Ms front! I don't have someone who can send a bag to me.

- I'm not sure of the exact name, but I used to get these gummy berry candies from Canada made by Maynard, as in the wine gum people. I don't know if they're still made, and the friend who used to send them to me lives in Arizona now.

- Japanese yogurt candy! I used to be able to find chewy stuff, pressed powder stuff (like Sweetarts), hard candy (like butterscotch) -- you name it. I can't find *anything* yogurt nowadays, and I've checked several Asian grocery stores. I don't know if they no longer exist or just aren't being stocked by these stores any longer.

I have a long list of childhood whyyyyy-don't-they-make-these-anymore candies, but I'll leave those off.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 13, 2014)

you know what i really flipping love that no one else loved and it breaks my heart? 3D Doritos. There. I said it. Judge me.


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## meaganola (Jun 13, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> you know what i really flipping love that no one else loved and it breaks my heart? 3D Doritos. There. I said it. Judge me.


I liked those, too! I'm not typically a huge Doritos fan, but I would buy those before regular Doritos.

(My secret shame junk food love that no one else liked was diet Crystal Pepsi.)


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## BSquared (Jun 13, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @@BSquared They are seriously gorgeous and apply like butttter!! If you want, I can swatch Bach, Mendelssohn, and Debussy for you!! I obviously have all 3. Not to mention Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and Schubert.


Oh my gosh that would be so great! It's always nice to see "real world" swatches!!!

On a related noted while I ponder this purchase (and maybe it will help some people here since I know a lot of people have indie shadows on their dream lists)....how many uses can you get out of a sample baggie? I know I've seen people say quite a bit but are we talking like a week? A month? Just trying to decide if I should order a bunch of samples or just the full sizes of the ones I love. With $9 shipping I want to make it worth it!


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## BSquared (Jun 13, 2014)

Always wanted to try:

Well, at the moment it's Hello Waffles lol. Kevyn Aucoin, a bunch of brands of Indie Polish (Rainbow Honey, Dance Legend, Llarowe). Maybe something from Lime Crime but I've heard there's drama with the company so not sure. Lit cosmetics glitter. OCC lip tars.

Stuff I wish was still around:

 - nothing really from makeup. I've been lucky enough to never have something I LOVE be discontinued. Fingers crossed that continues.

Food:

 - Clearly Canadian! Although I've heard rumors big lots sometimes carries it but that store kind of scares me

 - I loooveeeddd Crystal Pepsi!

 - Smoked turkey from the local bagel place. My FAVORITE sandwich was smoked turkey, plain cream cheese, and honey mustard on a bagel. I could probably re-create it at home, but it's not really the same.

- Butterfinger BBs!!!


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## ashleylind (Jun 13, 2014)

sarap said:


> *What company or product have you always wanted to try???


Companies: Beauty Blender, Kate Von D, Hourglass, Lorac, LUSH, Peter Thomas Roth, Rainbow Honey, Tarte


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## meaganola (Jun 13, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Oh my gosh that would be so great! It's always nice to see "real world" swatches!!!
> 
> On a related noted while I ponder this purchase (and maybe it will help some people here since I know a lot of people have indie shadows on their dream lists)....how many uses can you get out of a sample baggie? I know I've seen people say quite a bit but are we talking like a week? A month? Just trying to decide if I should order a bunch of samples or just the full sizes of the ones I love. With $9 shipping I want to make it worth it!


I don't use baggies (they're beyond my abilities at 5am!), but GDE sample jars (which I think are just twice as much volume-wise as the baggies and in a jar) last me forever. Like well over a couple of months of daily use. I have yet to come close to finishing one.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 13, 2014)

Oh I am so far behind...

Household:  Me, my soon to be 18 year old son Jameson who will be leaving for college in Aug, a cat, a yellow lab/beagle mix and a minpin/chi mix.  I also have a male friend temporarily living with me while he undergoes some orthopedic treatment in my area.  He is fond of facials and raiding my stock of skin care items!

I like/love too many things to pick favorites.  So no favorite band, movie, book.

Smells:  lilac, berry with lemon, pomegranate, mint, mango.

Snacks:  are good, but I don't do a lot of sugar

$1500 shopping spree:  At the moment would be Home Depot.   I am in the process of putting up a privacy fence and doing some major landscaping.

Became an adult:  Probably at 21.  My mom died.  I am an only child and my parents were divorced.  Beside making all of her funeral arrangements, I had to pack up and sell her house.  She was my rock.  I had no one left in my life that I could truly count on after she died.  I officially became "old and weary" though at 44 when I lost my 19 year old daughter to complications from a bone marrow transplant.  I had spent the previous six years dedicated to her medical care, only to lose her in the end.

Remove Makeup:  I don't have a go to cleanser yet.  I just use whatever I have on hand.  Currently working on a large sample of something Murad sent me.  I do use wipes sometimes, and am rather fond of the Say Yes to Grapefruit ones that I just got in a circular swap.  I do LOVE theBalm's Time Bomb for removing eye makeup.

Song:  Halalejuah

Makeup Item:  Lip balm

Food:  Ice Cream

Household item:  my bed

Game/Hobby:  A library (I read a TON)

Company/Product wanted to try:  Only thing I have really been lusting after is a Tom Ford lipstick, but I am about to order that with my BG giftcards.

Product I can no longer get:  Bath &amp; Body Works had a perfume called LOVE.  It was amazing with my body chemistry.  I have never worn any other perfume that made men comment as much as this one did.  Women comment on my perfume often, but this one was the one that men seemed to notice.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 13, 2014)

If anyone does much shopping at Forever 21, please PM me.  I have a gift card that I will never use.  It might be a good place to pick up some extras for my gal.  But I know nothing about their sizing etc.


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## button6004 (Jun 13, 2014)

I really want to try a butter london polish since im such a polish lover.  I would also love to try brands like Nars and Benefit (I've sampled benetint but that's it). Oh, and the fresh line- I've used the sugar lip tint but I've always wanted to try one of their masks.  So pricy!


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## button6004 (Jun 13, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> If anyone does much shopping at Forever 21, please PM me.  I have a gift card that I will never use.  It might be a good place to pick up some extras for my gal.  But I know nothing about their sizing etc.


I pick up fun little jewelry piece there all of the time! Its good for cute necklaces and earrings.


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## Kelli (Jun 13, 2014)

They just opened a Lush at my "local" (ie an hour away) mall! Hopefully, I will get a chance to head out there and check it out! I've been wanting to try them and I know A LOT of people seem to like Lush according to Wishlists and just generally reading posts around here. Exciting!


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## valeried44 (Jun 13, 2014)

Brands/products I'd like to try, but haven't,,, Lush, MAC, the Balm, any indies (makeup and nail polishes), and Korean products.  I like trying new things, I just don't have the guts to buy different things sometimes.  So, I like sub boxes to help push me out of my comfort zone.


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## button6004 (Jun 13, 2014)

Oooh, the Balm is another one I want to try!


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## cobainrls (Jun 13, 2014)

To my Swap Buddy: I made a list but I don't know how to link it here but, I made one and its chilling out in Sara's summerswap list or something like that.


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## cobainrls (Jun 13, 2014)

To finish catching up-

Song: Mouth full of cavities by Blind Melon

Make-up: chapstick but I love mascara and eyeliner

household item: I have no clue

game: I love board games!

smells/scents: I love the way gain smells!

snacks: hmm...chips, cookies, or icecream

1,500 to spend: I would go to Williams-Sonoma or Sephora

Family: Husband, 3 dogs and 3 cats

Age became an adult: well at 25 I got my shit together then about 28 lost my shit so now I am trying to become an adult again

Make-up removal: usually eye make-up remover then face wipe


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## cobainrls (Jun 13, 2014)

How do the roadies work? I don't think my person has even posted in here  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jesemiaud (Jun 13, 2014)

sarap said:


> Yes, samples coming out my ears...
> 
> *What company or product have you always wanted to try???


Wow...not sure. I think the only companies I can think of that haven't tried products from are Indies. And I'm not that knowledgeable to know what they are other than Dance Legend.Dying to try some of their stuff.Oh and MAC. I wouldn't mind trying something from there one of these days.
Products I love that have been discontinued: BBWs American Grown Lemon body wash and Avons Shine perfume.


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## BSquared (Jun 13, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> How do the roadies work? I don't think my person has even posted in here  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


From my undestanding, you can PM anyone listed as a roadie and they can be a "go between" to ask questions to your buddy if you have questions about their specific preferences (colors, what they'd like, would they like xxx product etc).


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## CurlyTails (Jun 13, 2014)

I've always wanted to try Rainbow Honey. I've filled carts but have never pulled the trigger. Hello a Waffle also looks interesting to date.

I wish Lush Rose Jam shower gel was sold year round. I love that stuff. Food wise, I love Bourbon biscuits from England but I can't find them here.


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## dotybird (Jun 13, 2014)

Hi!

I've been bad about answering the questions, so here goes....

My name is Sarah. I live in NYC with my husband of two years. No pets though I do love to stop by pet shops and ogle at the puppies!

Dream vacation: The Amalfi Coast in Italy is my #1 dream vacation right now. We were supposed to go this spring but then I found out I was pregnant. No use in going to Italy if I can't indulge in the wine!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Also on my list are Buenos Aires/Rio de Janeiro (I have been to Rio but would love to go back with my husband) and also Thailand/Vietnam/Cambodia.

Last thing that made me smile: When my 10 year old nephew told my mother that the picture he drew for her was "inspired by Henry Rothko."

Favorite colors: I like a lot of neutrals with pops of bright colors. I love magenta and hot pinks with orange. I love Ikat and Turkish Kilim rugs.

Favorite foods: I love all food. Korean bbq, pasta, Mexican, seafood especially lobster, etc... Eating is probably my favorite thing to do!

Don't know about desert island picks though I know I couldn't live without lip balm, lotion, sunscreen and maybe dental floss.

Snacks: Love them! I prefer salty over sweet but also love gummy candies, salted caramels, nougat and marzipan. I am not the biggest fan of chocolate though.

Band/movie/book: Too many to choose from! John Irving is my favorite author though I don't have a favorite of his. I also read a lot of non-fiction.

$1500 to spend: Probably some type of home goods store. Crate and Barrel or Room and Board.

Brands to try: I am open to anything from drug store to high end. Maybe jurlique? I am trying to incorporate more natural/organic companies into my routine.


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## jennm149 (Jun 13, 2014)

Luckily, my tastes in makeup and food are sufficiently varied that I can't really think of "unicorn" products.  There aren't many things I buy more than once.  If "A" runs out and I need something similar, I just pick up whatever I see next that looks shiny and fun and new.

I graduated from college and got my first "real" job when I was 20, so I suppose that's when I started functioning as an adult.  It's a lot of years later, and I still don't really "feel" like an adult.  I still wander around our house and think it's weird that it's "ours" and not our parents.


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## rachelshine (Jun 13, 2014)

@@BSquared I'll swatch today and post up a pic  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> As for sample baggies, I love em. I think they are a great way to try a color before jumping in FS. You can get a TON of applications out most of them, as you don't need a lot of product. I also have tried to start pressing my own loose indies and actually used one of my sample baggies to make a pressed shadow. It filled up a pan like this. 

As for makeup removers, I am sometimes lazy as frak and don't do it   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ! I also like to multipurpose and pray my cleansers get most of it off. I quite like Purity, my Eve Lom sample, and the crazy Korean ones I am getting from Meme.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 13, 2014)

I've been buying some things for my swapster today and then I realized that we still will be receiving their sign-up info with some more information.  I can't remember what questions were on there though.


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## tulosai (Jun 13, 2014)

Company/Product wanted to try:  Glamour doll eyes, and other indies in general! Also Wei and some others.  I think this is somewhere on my midsummer list.

Product I can no longer get:  OPI Black Spotted!!!!! I lived in France and Germany and could find it in europe but my last bottle just kicked it and it's not available here.  this makes me want to cry. There was also rose jelly or jam there that was amazing.  Like made out of rose petals.  I also have never seen any here.  And in Germany I loved Ritter Sport chocolate.  Sometimes you can find it here but it's hard.

I think that about concludes my sob list  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## trekkersangel (Jun 13, 2014)

Alrighty. . . so here's another question.  I'm super big on fandoms &amp; I really like to make my gifts go along with themes. . . etc.  SO. . .I know not everybody is into fandom type things, but if you are what do you LOVE?

And second question. . . what is your style?  (Retro, Vintage, Pin-up, etc.)

For me. . . 

#1: Disney &amp; Mickey Mouse (I worked for Disney &amp; am a fanatic.  My kitchen &amp; bedroom are Mickey Mouse)

#2: Doctor Who.  (LOVE Doctor Who)

#3: Harry Potter (my last name is Potter. . . loving Harry Potter is a must in our family)

#4: I love Comic Con.  Someday I'll go.  I was a comic book junkie as a kid &amp; I'd be in heaven with all the science fiction there.  I love costumes &amp; would love to dress up (I make my family's Halloween costumes every year &amp; they all go around one theme.  It's SO fun)

I'm a total 1950's junkie.  I love polka dots &amp; circle skirts &amp; anything pin-up style.  I love my red &amp; white polka dotted one piece swimsuit &amp; I pair it with a few pin curls &amp; a pair of sunglasses.  I think I was born in the wrong era.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## tulosai (Jun 13, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I'm a total 1950's junkie.  I love polka dots &amp; circle skirts &amp; anything pin-up style.  I love my red &amp; white polka dotted one piece swimsuit &amp; I pair it with a few pin curls &amp; a pair of sunglasses.  I think I was born in the wrong era.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


OT but I also have and love a red polka dot one piece swimsuit!!!! It is pretty much my favorite thing that I own.


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## LolaJay (Jun 13, 2014)

OK I have to stop reading and post because I have been MIA for a couple days (last days of school + cheer meetings and gymnastics all week) and I want to join in on the fun!!

The last thing that made me smile was....getting a sweet card from one of my 5th graders this morning thanking me for all of my help this year. It actually made me cry a little, too.

My name is Lauren and I'm from the Detroit area and I love ALL THE FOODS - but if I had to pick it would be guacamole or shrimp or any carb haha.

Deserted island list!!!:

SONG: Tough because I am really into music - I literally just spent 10 minutes thinking about this ha! I narrowed it down to 2 - and if anyone knows/likes either one of these bands we will be new BFFs!! 1. Bayside - "Killing Time" and/or 2. Saves the Day - "This Is Not an Exit". Tough question!

MAKEUP ITEM: Also tough for me, but I wouldn't want to be without mascara

FOOD: Probably pizza

HOUSEHOLD PRODUCT: Wet wipes or baby wipes

GAME/HOBBY: Art supplies and a big fat sketch book!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 13, 2014)

Fandoms: Game of Thrones, Doctor Who and Sherlock (although I wouldn't say I'm as big a fan as others, but I enjoy the shows), X-Men (I used to read the comics), anything Blizzard related, Zelda, Harry Potter, Pokemon, Borderlands

I would love to go to Comic Con too! I used to live in San Diego and I never went, so basically I was the worst local ever.

Style? Hmm, professional, classic, laid-back, romantic? Who knows, I wear tshirts and pants or capris most of the time, and I just recently bought a bunch of Maison Jules clothing for the summer. All of their stuff is totally my style.


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## Dashery (Jun 13, 2014)

Fandoms: Attack on Titan. I'm obsessed with AoT right now. Every time I think my interest is dying down, something comes out that gets me all engrossed again! Otherwise, I also love Lord of the Rings and anything Studio Ghibli (specifically Howl's Moving Castle and Kiki's Delivery Service). 

Style: Steampunk. Oh my applesauce! If I could wear / live / breathe steampunk every day I most certainly would. Steampunk has been my favorite aesthetic for as long as I can remember. Long before I even knew it's name. There's just something about the combination of antiquity and technology in steampunk that I really love! It has this certain spirit of exploration and whimsy to it.


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## LolaJay (Jun 13, 2014)

OH! And now that I have my buddy (YAY!)...does anyone else get as excited as I do when you read your buddy's list and know it's YOU they are talking to? I may be a huge nerd but I already browsed my buddy's list previously and now when I read it I am like "That's me! I'm your buddy!" Haha

Huge nerd, I know! But I'm excitedddd!


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## Dashery (Jun 13, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> OH! And now that I have my buddy (YAY!)...does anyone else get as excited as I do when you read your buddy's list and know it's YOU they are talking to? I may be a huge nerd but I already browsed my buddy's list previously and now when I read it I am like "That's me! I'm your buddy!" Haha
> 
> Huge nerd, I know! But I'm excitedddd!


I'm like that whenever I see one of my buddy's posts about the swap. I'm all: "_Hehehehehe  :couch: __ "_


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## Kelli (Jun 13, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> OK I have to stop reading and post because I have been MIA for a couple days (last days of school + cheer meetings and gymnastics all week) and I want to join in on the fun!!
> 
> The last thing that made me smile was....getting a sweet card from one of my 5th graders this morning thanking me for all of my help this year. It actually made me cry a little, too.
> 
> ...


I know Bayside and Saves The Day!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I saw Saves The Day live back in 2008 lol I looked the show up to see when it was and couldn't believe it was soooo long ago. It makes me feel old haha


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## tulosai (Jun 13, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Alrighty. . . so here's another question.  I'm super big on fandoms &amp; I really like to make my gifts go along with themes. . . etc.  SO. . .I know not everybody is into fandom type things, but if you are what do you LOVE?
> 
> And second question. . . what is your style?  (Retro, Vintage, Pin-up, etc.)


Fandoms: Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Vampire Diaries, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl, Downton Abbey, Reign, The Blacklist, True Blood, JANE AUSTEN stuff, there are probably more...

Style: I am really into the mod cloth style, so sort of vintage romantic.


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## Kelli (Jun 13, 2014)

As far as fandoms, I don't actively participate in anything but I think these shows I like have some strong fandomness going on: Supernatural, Firefly, Fringe &amp; Arrow.


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## Dashery (Jun 13, 2014)

Kelli said:


> As far as fandoms, I don't actively participate in anything but I think these shows I like have some strong fandomness going on: Supernatural, Firefly, Fringe &amp; Arrow.


Oh, Firefly....I forgot Firefly.... :scared:


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 13, 2014)

fandoms... i dont think i actively participate in any. i mean, i like stuff but not to a point where i consider myself a part of a pop culture fandom. (am i thinking about it wrong?) lol if anyone needs more information and would like to follow up, thats fine.

style: i'm a plus size girl and i love to rock my looks. think fat girl jcrew  with a hit of hipster and awesome. right now i'm loving asos (full skirts, belts, cute tops).


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## CurlyTails (Jun 13, 2014)

For fandoms, I love Alice in Wonderland, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Downton Abbey. I'm also obsessed with Top Chef.


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## Kelli (Jun 13, 2014)

My style is that I really don't have one. I buy whatever I can find that fits and catches my eye. Might be a boho shirt and jeans one day and a cute girlie dress the next. I love ModCloth stuff, but haven't actually bought anything since most of it is a bit pricey (I am excited by how much plus size clothing they have gotten over the last couple years! When I first started checking them out they really didn't have anything plus sized).


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## BSquared (Jun 13, 2014)

I am really like making an effort to avoid getting into mod cloth. Everything I've seen I've loved and I'm scared I'll get addicted!

Fandoms....Do the Britney Army and Rhianna Navy count lol? Show wise I like true blood and real housewives of oc. Orange is the New Black is probably my biggest obsession at the moment but that's not really a fandom.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 13, 2014)

bsquared said:


> I am really like making an effort to avoid getting into mod cloth. Everything I've seen I've loved and I'm scared I'll get addicted!
> 
> Fandoms....Do the Britney Army and Rhianna Navy count lol? Show wise I like true blood and real housewives of oc. Orange is the New Black is probably my biggest obsession at the moment but that's not really a fandom.


i like modcloth in theory! but i feel like its over priced for cheapy materials sometimes...but i also feel that way about a lot of places!


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## Kelli (Jun 13, 2014)

bsquared said:


> I am really like making an effort to avoid getting into mod cloth. Everything I've seen I've loved and I'm scared I'll get addicted!
> 
> Fandoms....Do the Britney Army and Rhianna Navy count lol? Show wise I like true blood and real housewives of oc. Orange is the New Black is probably my biggest obsession at the moment but that's not really a fandom.


Yeah I'm afraid of buying one thing and then needing everything else lol I love going on their site and seeing all the user submitted photos of how they styled the dresses they bought. It's so fun. I have been eying the Coach Tour Dress in Houndstooth for so long. If I ever had $50 to spend on one dress, that'd probably be the one. I think that is what my style would be like if I had the funds lol


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## chelsealady (Jun 13, 2014)

So I'm going to try and get caught up. We are moving our office and I'm going to kill somebody if it doesn't kill me first.

I live in Memphis with my husband. Two corgis and two black cats. Anything corgi or black cat related is one of my favorite thing to get.

Dream vacation: London or Rome.

Last thing that made me smile: Baby nephew(2) got a new Superman shirt. And he goes, "oh, I love it." Then he hugs it.

Favorite colors: I like any color but yellow and gold.

Favorite foods: Anything but pudding. Can't stand it.

Desert island: Seeing that I'm vampire pale. I better take sunscreen. And my kindle. There are so many books on there I wouldn't be sad.

Snacks: Any kind. I'm partial to resses peanut butter cups and golden flake potato chips. Can't have either one in the house.

Brands to try: I'll try anything once.


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## Babs28 (Jun 13, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> style: i'm a plus size girl and i love to rock my looks. think fat girl jcrew  with a hit of hipster and awesome. right now i'm loving asos (full skirts, belts, cute tops).


Jess is a beautiful as she is sweet as is OpheliaDiFranco.    These are the "Ladies of Summerswap".  @@OpheliaDiFranco Jess and I met for dinner last month when Jess was in town. :w00t:   :smilehappyyes:

From left to right, Me, OpheliaDiFranco, &amp; UsofJessamerica:





The guy who took the pic was a bit drunk to say the least so it's a bit fuzzy!


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## meaganola (Jun 13, 2014)

Fandoms:  I'm just going to copy my Midsummer response here!  Welcome to Night Vale, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad (it's not over in my heart!), Supernatural, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, Game of Thrones, True Blood (well, okay, mainly the first two or three seasons before the show runners LOST THEIR COLLECTIVE MIND), Teen Wolf (I watch on Netflix, so I'm a season behind!), The Blacklist, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, Grimm, comic book movies and horror movies in general.  I love everything Alice in Wonderland except the Burton film (my earliest memory is of reading the book) and _Once Upon a Time in Wonderland_ (it just didn't grab me).  I plan on diving into Star Trek TOS (I've only ever seen *one* episode!) and finally finishing Firefly (so sad!  Once I'm done with it, that's it!) this summer.  The first fandom I actively participated in was Buffy!  I miss that show.  Hogwarts house:  Ravenclaw.  I would self-select, and Pottermore agrees with me.  

[New fandom comment:  My inner six-year-old is VERY VERY EXCITED because I just drove by the marquee of the beer theatre across the street from me, and they're showing the 1978 _Superman_!  Yes, I saw it in the theatre when it was released, aka when I was six.  That was an amazing year to be a six-year-old mesmerized by comic book stuff.  _Wonder Woman_, The Amazing Spider-Man_, and _The Incredible Hulk_ were all on tv.  And I could do a double feature because they're also showing _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_!]

Family situation:  Just me and the cats!  They're both almost three years old, but one of them (gray, probably creeping up on twenty pounds) acts like he's three years old, and the other one (black, maybe ten pounds if he's lucky) acts like he's about six months old.  I don't think he will ever grow up.  (I also love anything black cat related!  This guy is actually my second black cat.  My first was Hunter, although I called him The Dude in his later years because he became *phenomenally* laid back.  He was my bestest buddy ever.  We went through a *lot* together, just him and me.  His sister was there for a good chunk of it, but I had to put her to sleep in 2006, and my entire life got turned upside down two years later, and *that* was when he really turned out to be the most awesome sidekick I could have ever wished for.  I had to put him to sleep three years ago, literally the same day I got my current job.  I had to rush the hiring lady through the congratulations-you-got-the-job call because I had to leave work early to take him to the vet for the last time after I finally realized that I was just being selfish in refusing to let him go despite his *very* serious illness that there was no recovering from.  It was a very weird day.)  (These two are going to be *very* confused by the forced cuddling they are going to be enduring this evening.)

Desert Island:  All I need is a return ticket to home.  I have yet to be able to answer this sort of question.  I would definitely want a Leatherman Wave, but that's just a necessary-for-life thing not specific to a desert island situation.

Snack food:  I forgot to say that I love nuts!  Any kind.  Preferably just roasted and salted.  Never anything spicy!  (I consider peanuts to be beans, but they're acceptable for snacking.)


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## Babs28 (Jun 13, 2014)

As for my style, I'm not sure what you would call it, I love dresses (some of the Modcloth ones are faves), heels, maxiskirts, stackable bracelets and rings, tiny layered necklaces and some ultra feminine pieces. I also love to mix in little skull and crossbones &amp; things generally categorized as "boyish".

What you can't see in the picture is that I have a full sleeve (the coloring is not done yet) tattoo of butterflies on my left arm. There are probably 40+ butterflies (all sizes and types) on my arm with vines intertwined, "flames" and a quote. It's super feminine and the artwork is exquisite.  So I can easily pull off the "Modern" Pin Up look when I want to. 

Fandom? I'm not in anything but I LOVE Harry Potter, I'm a fan of Game of Thrones, the Percy Jackson series (both) and Stephen King.


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## ashleylind (Jun 13, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> If anyone does much shopping at Forever 21, please PM me.  I have a gift card that I will never use.  It might be a good place to pick up some extras for my gal.  But I know nothing about their sizing etc.


They have really cute, dirt cheap jewelry. I think I got 14 pairs of earrings things for $12.

As for fandom: Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Outlander, Reign, Vampire Academy, Hunger Games, The Maze Runner trilogy, House, Scandal


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## jesemiaud (Jun 13, 2014)

I've never considered fandom,but I love Grimm, Hunger Games, Divergent, Lord of the Rings and of course, The Princess Bride.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 13, 2014)

I have another question I'm curious about: Coffee, Tea, or something else. How do you drink it and any favorite flavors?

For me, I can't drink coffee, but I am a huge tea drinker. I bought some Harney &amp; Sons tea from BB and I'm loving those. I love green teas and citrus flavors. I also love chai tea.


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## dancersmum (Jun 13, 2014)

I'm not really a fandom kinda girl...

I'm more of a foodie person lol - so if anything my fandom would be cook books...I have no idea how many I own but I love love cook books...I've been known to give good friends cook books (modernist cuisine at home as an example) and then when I go visit them I will sit and read the cook book as I don't own it myself (so sad lol)...

some of my fav cookbooks authors include:

Heston blumenthal

Rose Levy Bernabaum

Sherry Yard

Thomas Keller

Ruth Reichl

I'm trying to avoid clutter in the house so for some I only bought the kindle edition...but then I prefer actual books...if I had more space available I would want to own them all!

I used to read every issue of Gourmet magazine - I don't know why but Bon Appetit  never quite did it for me...and I still occasionally collect some of the Best of Gourmet cookbooks when I see when on ebay that calls my name (and is nice and cheap lol)...was so sad when they stopped issuing that magazine!


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## OpheliaDiFranco (Jun 13, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Jess is a beautiful as she is sweet as is OpheliaDiFranco.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  These are the "Ladies of Summerswap".  @@OpheliaDiFranco Jess and I met for dinner last month when Jess was in town. :w00t:   :smilehappyyes:
> 
> From left to right, Me, OpheliaDiFranco, &amp; UsofJessamerica:
> 
> ...


What a great night! And what wonderful girls!!! Jess I would say ur interpretation of ur style is dead-on--well less the "fat girl" part lol. Silly. Babs doll, you surprised me. Super pretty and feminine but edgy and somewhat intimidating as well--the perfect Mix!!! As for me, I think I have settled into a kinda reserved hipster casual chic style. When I was younger I was kinda soft goth. Now that I'm "all grown up" I still carry some of that--I dye my hair black, I love super pale skin and dark eyes and red lips. 80% of my clothes are black...but I don't resign myself to that. I have tattoos and piercings and I wear simple jewelry. I'm a strange mix of every phase I went through growing up. I am embarrassed to admit that the majority of my clothes come from old navy, but I also shop at aero, ae, gap, and wear Kenneth Cole, dkny, lucky, Michael Kors, Cynthia rowley...ya told ya I was all over the place lol


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 13, 2014)

Enabler alert! If you have someone who is into Butter London products, Beauty.com just put a bunch on clearance--and if you click through EBATES you can activate a $10 off $50 coupon that works on clearance products.


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 13, 2014)

I don't even know what fandom is, probably safe to say I'm not into it. I think that's more my bf's speed.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 13, 2014)

Fandoms? I have no idea. I'm a fan of lots of things lol.

Style? Hard to describe but I consider myself a 50/50 mix of Carrie and Charlotte. I love bright colors, funky prints and heels almost as much as pencil skirts, sheath dresses and pearls lol. Like Calvin Klein mixed with Francesca's. For casual wear I love everything Len Druskin sells.

Coffee/tea? I can't live without coffee. I don't know my own name until I take a sip. I get vanilla flavored coffee or stir some sugar free vanilla syrup in it. I've recently gotten into the chai latte k cups and those are delish but other than that I like very few teas.


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## dancersmum (Jun 13, 2014)

I'm a tea person lol...

Love adiago teas...mango rooibos &amp; the earl grey rooibos.  I also order directly from india some tea that I fell in love with while travelling in Thailand that is made with alphonso mango...so yummy!

My favourite Earl Grey is probably from British East India Tea company.  I could go on and on forever about tea...

I used to love coffee too but after being prego I haven't ever been able to drink it again without feeling ill but my 2 of my kids and my hubby are coffee fiends...one of their fav beans was from a WA company called Mocha Joes.


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## dancersmum (Jun 13, 2014)

@@cobainrls - just PM one of us and we can help get you info that you need!  there's a list posted on babs28 signature where you can go see the complete list of roadies!

Happy to help!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 13, 2014)

Right now I'm a tea person. I've worked at Starbucks in my entire youth and even my corporate life revolves around coffee in my current role. But besides leading a cupping (or critiquing a roast), I don't go for coffee first anymore.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 13, 2014)

I'm really weird &amp; don't drink coffee or tea. I drink a ton of water &amp; though I know its not the best thing to drink, I love milk (guess growing up on a farm never fully leaves you!). Ha ha ha.


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## DonnaD (Jun 14, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Alrighty. . . so here's another question.  I'm super big on fandoms &amp; I really like to make my gifts go along with themes. . . etc.  SO. . .I know not everybody is into fandom type things, but if you are what do you LOVE?
> 
> And second question. . . what is your style?  (Retro, Vintage, Pin-up, etc.)


Not a huge fan of anything.  I really enjoy GoT, Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Princess Bride etc., but I wouldn't consider myself obsessed (which I believe is a requirment for fandom.)

My style is as follows:  I never wear pants.  I hate pants.  I like florals and girly things...long skirts and such.  And conservative.  No belly shirts for me!


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## DonnaD (Jun 14, 2014)

I have to have my coffee in the morning or I might hurt anyone who dares glance in my direction.  I do not kid.  I have a Keurig and I like the Donut Shop coffee.  I also love latte and cappuccino in the evenings.  I never use artificial sweetener ever so I never drink the various flavoured k-cups you can get.  They're full of artificial gunk.  Bleh.

I love interesting coffee cups.  Not mugs...cups.  My favourite is the big clear cup and saucer from Adiagio teas.


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## Kelli (Jun 14, 2014)

I don't really like coffee, but will grab a mocha frappe/Frappuccino. I like tea a bit, but don't drink much of it either. I am, according to my family, a Dr-Pepper-aholic.


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## valeried44 (Jun 14, 2014)

Fandoms?  I really don't get hardcore into anything.  

My style?  For the most part, I'm a T-shirt and jeans kinda gal.  When I go out, I wear nice shirts paired with jeans.  Only on special occasions will you find me in a skirt and very rarely in a dress.  

Coffee or Tea?  I'm a part of that rare breed that doesn't care for either.


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## SaraP (Jun 14, 2014)

No true fandoms...but I really love Nightmare Before Christmas. We rock the sound track from Halloween to Christmas. I'm weird and often sympathize with the bad guys, I love a good villain. 

My personal style is plain, but in away that's kind of classic. I like simple lines, clean crisp blacks and whites, and simple classic jewelry.

But deep down I have violet hair, full tattooed sleeves and many piercings. Prior to having a real job my hair was every color of the rainbow, I have too many tattoos to count, but they are well hidden. I worked with a woman for 5 years before she saw had tattoos on both of my wrists. I had to remove most of my piercings when I was preggers and that was that. So my style is Punk mascaraing as Classic. I can't wait to be old and rock it just the way I want to....


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## lastnite629 (Jun 14, 2014)

Playing catch up.  Apologies if I make multiple posts...

Scents - Old spice reminds me of my grandpa (and dad &amp; husband....lol) Regular scented chapstick &amp; butterscotch remind me of my grandpa, too.  

Snacks as extras -  I'm all about snacks so i'd be okay with it.  Maybe not anything that would melt, though.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 14, 2014)

Favorite band - Foo Fighters, Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band. 

Movie - This is a tough one.  Really depends on my mood. I love Disney's Emperor's New Groove &amp; Hercules.   Wreck it Ralph is a big favorite right now.  Steel Magnolias, My Best Friend's Wedding, Love, Actually,  Can't Hardly Wait, the original Halloween...

Book - All of them. I'll read anything I can get my hands on.  



Babs28 said:


> I have another question.  You just won a $1,500 gift certificate to ONE store.  What store would you shop at, what would you buy and why?


Eek. That's a tough one. My first thought was a bookstore, but that's a lot of books!  Maybe Macy's so I can use it on all sorts of things.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 14, 2014)

Family dynamic - Me, hubby of 12 years, 10 1/2 year old dog named Ginny &amp; a stray cat (Kiki) that adopted us a few years ago.  Ginny is like our daughter and it kills me that she is getting old.  We adopted her when she was 8 weeks old.  Last May, We found a lump on her ear that turned out to be cancer.  The vet had to remove her ear flap, but luckily the cancer had not spread!  She's our one eared wonder pup.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  

When did I become an adult?  I'll be 34 at the end of this month, but most days I really don't feel like an adult.  lol   Seriously, I think I became an adult in 2002.  In April, Hubby (boyfriend at the time) came back from being stationed in Korea for a year. I moved (first time moving out of my parents house) to be with him on April 20th. Six days later we got married on the spur of the moment.  December of that year he deployed for what was supposed to be a 45 day deployment. Then the war started. It was six months before he came home. I grew up a lot during all of that.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 14, 2014)

Coffee, tea, all of the yummy drinks! I love them all! I have a Keurig, Nespresso, fancy tea, they're all great! Oh and iced coffee and iced tea are my jam. I take my coffee with Italian Sweet Cream creamer, and my iced tea unsweetened. Hot tea I sometimes like some sugar. And in terms of water I almost always drink flavored carbonated water. We always have a ton of that at home.


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## bonita22 (Jun 14, 2014)

I missed a lot of questions.

Household: My husband, my brother, my 2 dogs (a shih tzu mix and a maltipoo) and me.

Favorite Movie: Pretty Woman

Favorite Smells: Vanilla, cupcakes, lemon and apples.

Favorite Song: Oh No! By Marina &amp; the Diamonds

Makeup Item: Lipstick

Household item: My iPad

When I became an adult: 20 when I eloped. I'm the eldest in my family, I was always very independent and was used to just taking care of myself. My husband on the other hand is the baby of his family, and boy was he babied. His mom did everything for him, even manage his money (mostly because she liked to be in control of his life). All of a sudden I had to take care of myself and my new husband and on top of that the MIL was not happy. There were a few rough months in the beginning but it was definitely the best decision I've ever made.

How I Remove Makeup: Makeup remover wipes, then Lancôme Bifacil and then my trusty cetaphil anti bacterial face cleaner.

Brands I would love to try: There are many Becca, Glamour Doll Eyes and Hourglass come to mind. Essence from Europe because I hear they get great collections over there.

Deserted Island question: Lip balm, lotion with SPF and a machete.

Fandoms: I love Comic Books! Wonder Woman is my favorite. I also love frogs (more of an obsession really).

My style: I like a little of everything, just like to be comfortable. I love maxi skirts, leggings and rompers.

Coffee, Tea or something else: all the above. My coffee always has to have milk and lots of sugar. Chamomile tea is the best thing ever, I use it mostly medicinally but it's still great. Soda has always been my weakness. However in my recent efforts to lose weight, I have quit soda cold turkey (it has been 3 weeks now). Now I try to mostly drink water.


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## chelsealady (Jun 14, 2014)

Think I have missed some.

Scents: Anything citrus, tropical.

Coffee: I am not human till have my coffee. I will drink tea in the winter.

My style: I guess you would classic with a twist. I tend to wear a lot of black and throw in a pop of color. Blue finger nail polish, a skull scarf, something subtle.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 14, 2014)

I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I'll enjoy a Frappachino from time to time.  I do like a nice cup of tea on occasion.  In the winter I love drinking hot chocolate.

During the week, I'd say that my style is also Classic with a Twist, but on the weekends I'm more like the 30 year old version of how a 5 year old would dress!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 14, 2014)

@@CurlyTails me too! Especially in winter - yes, I will wear a dress with 3 pairs of leggings under them and long bright socks over the leggings and winter boots. Then of course my favorite comfortable sweater. OH and a giant scarf. And my colored (green or mauve) winter coat - and I picked those colors instead of black so I can be easily identified in case I get lost in a crowd.

Wisconsin: 8 months out of the year where I look like the worlds biggest kindergartener  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## tulosai (Jun 14, 2014)

more fandoms people reminded me of: Princess Bride and Love Actually!

Coffee/tea: 95% of the time, tea, but I keep 'emergency' coffee around and drink it when necessary  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I definitely prefer flavored coffees when I have them. My real beverage passions are hot chocolate, wine, and cocktails though :wub:


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 14, 2014)

Hmmm... Let me see if I can remember some of the questions (it is hard to cut and paste on mobile).

Fandom: None really. The only times I ever felt a little like a fan girl were when I watched the Order of the Garter ceremony and was so close that the Queen's cloak went over my shoe as she passed, and when I met one of the guys who discovered the double helix shape of DNA.

Look: Fairly classic with a good deal of jewelry. I am a jewelry nut and love Art Deco or Art Deco inspired pieces.

Food: Salty or sweet or both. Not a fan of sticky candy like taffy (dental work). The pups and I adore white corn popcorn.

Drink: Iced tea, water, or club soda with lime for non-alcoholic options. Margaritas or wine for alcoholic.

Desert Island: My 300 pounds of dogs say you will never strand me on a desert island. They like their house and their mom!

Colors: I love teal and dusky blue-greys mixed with white.

Obsession: I have an obsession with cute vases and always have flowers in the house.

Scents: Orange, Lemon, English Bluebell, Orange Blossom, Honey


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## jesemiaud (Jun 14, 2014)

I don't think I answered the style question. I'd say I'm very classic. Lots of clean simple lines. I'm not a ruffly, glitter type of girl. I like to keep my wardrobe very simple. But then my jewelry is where I get a little crazy. I wear jewelry every day, but rarely good stuff. I like colorful, chunky costume jewelry. Sometimes I will stick to metals, but they are still bold chunky pieces.


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## jennm149 (Jun 14, 2014)

Fandoms:  I don't really participate in any, but my husband has turned me into a major Dr Who fan -- but mostly of the "classic" series.  We own every Dr. Who episode ever made, even some that are only available in audio ... except for the more recent Matt Smith stuff.  We're looking forward to Peter Capaldi, though.  I'm also a big fan of Louise Penny's Gamache series, and have to see if I can find the CBC version of Still Life.

Style:  Are "simple" and "comfortable" a style?  My typical work outfit is black pants, a print blouse and a black sweater or jacket.  I wear pant suits when more formal business attire is needed.  On the weekend, it's jeans or capris and a t-shirt most of the time, with a fleece in the winter.  I'm another plus size lady, and grew up in the days when there was no such thing as "stylish" clothing in larger sizes, so I just think it's not something I think about.

@Babs28 -- seems like there are a lot of us in the area here.  Maybe we could arrange some sort of get-together when our gifts come in to open them with each other.  My husband tries to "ooh" and "aah" over my girl stuff, but I'm not sure he'd be into it -- I think it might be fun to be with others who also love this stuff!  I know your hands are full with the swap itself, so I volunteer to find a place that's central, if others in the NW NJ/east-central PA area (let's say ABE to Morristown, for starters) would be interested.  If anyone who lives in the area is interested, PM me. I can see what the interest is and whether we can't set something up.

-- Congrats on the job offer!  That's so exciting.  I know it wasn't what you were looking for, but still awesome.

Made a purchase for my swap buddy today, and I've got an idea for a theme, so now I just need to put the rest of my list together for her.  So much fun!


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## jesemiaud (Jun 14, 2014)

I'm so excited! I got an email that Fortune Cookie Soap company is having a 48 hour, custom blend your own Whipped Cream body butter. I created one for my swapee based on her favorite scents! Plus I had a $10 off coupon, so got it cheap...woohoo!


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## bonita22 (Jun 14, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> I'm so excited! I got an email that Fortune Cookie Soap company is having a 48 hour, custom blend your own Whipped Cream body butter. I created one for my swapee based on her favorite scents! Plus I had a $10 off coupon, so got it cheap...woohoo!


I got the Halloween Town whipped cream in a trade once. It smells amazing! Too bad it sold out. Eta: I'm going to take advantage of the special and try recreate it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 14, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> I got the Halloween Town whipped cream in a trade once. It smells amazing! Too bad it sold out.
> 
> Eta: I'm going to take advantage of the special and try recreate it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


You can pick from any of their museums scents too! Just say you want Halloween Town!


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## Babs28 (Jun 14, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> @Babs28 -- seems like there are a lot of us in the area here.  Maybe we could arrange some sort of get-together when our gifts come in to open them with each other.  My husband tries to "ooh" and "aah" over my girl stuff, but I'm not sure he'd be into it -- I think it might be fun to be with others who also love this stuff!  I know your hands are full with the swap itself, so I volunteer to find a place that's central, if others in the NW NJ/east-central PA area (let's say ABE to Morristown, for starters) would be interested.  If anyone who lives in the area is interested, PM me. I can see what the interest is and whether we can't set something up.


That's an AWESOME idea. I love it!  @@OpheliaDiFranco is close-ish too. I'm sure she would love to come.  A major milestone birthday for me (that I am dreading) is around that time so I'll have something to look forward too!  YAY!!


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## meaganola (Jun 14, 2014)

Have the answers from the signup surveys been sent out yet?  I'm holding out on buying/ordering anything until I get them since I recall that there were some name-specific-items questions in there, but I haven't received them yet.


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## wadedl (Jun 14, 2014)

I have a husband of 12 years, we met at a goth club. We have a 10 year old girl and 11 year old boy and a pet bunny.

Used to go to Comic Con every year but its crazy now, passes are impossible to get. I did sneak in a few years ago (seriously impossible to get passes!) but my kids have gotten a chance to go with their uncles(kids are free). I walk them around all the outside stuff and uncle on the inside. 

Style is classic but I do love nail polish in bright colors that aren't pink. 

Brands I would love to try, YSL, Burberry, Guerlain Meteorites.

Unicorn are all the shoes I used to own!! We moved and a cleaning lady came before everything was out and took my shoes! I was a bit spoiled back then and acquired a collection of super comfy super cute shoes, mostly mary janes. I used to go shopping constantly and got them all in super amazing deals in brands that I could not normally afford. Its just so hard to get something in my style that is super comfortable. That is why I wear Toms or my Keen Sandals every day.

Obsessed with boxes. Containers that are cute. I used to make a lot of art pieces in boxes in college.


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## Babs28 (Jun 14, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Have the answers from the signup surveys been sent out yet?  I'm holding out on buying/ordering anything until I get them since I recall that there were some name-specific-items questions in there, but I haven't received them yet.


No, not yet.  They will start going out on Monday.


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## DonnaD (Jun 14, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> No, not yet.  They will start going out on Monday.


Maybe at that point you can help me with what I pm'd you about!   h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jun 14, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Maybe at that point you can help me with what I pm'd you about!   h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


:couch:  I haven't forgotten.   :bandit:   Just trying to get some rest.  I worked until 1am each day (my "normal" hours are 9-5:30pm) except the day I had the migraine. With what has developed in Iraq with the ISIS, my job and where I work has gone crazy.


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## DonnaD (Jun 14, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> :couch:  I haven't forgotten.   :bandit:   Just trying to get some rest.  I worked until 1am each day (my "normal" hours are 9-5:30pm) except the day I had the migraine. With what has developed in Iraq with the ISIS, my job and where I work has gone crazy.


No worries.  I know you'll get to it eventually and I'm not in a hurry.  It's all good.


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## Jac13 (Jun 14, 2014)

Ok I am little late to the party, lol.

I do not like coffee. I love hot chocolate and a nice cup of tea.

I mostly eat milk chocolates, caramel and chocolate, cheese cake and some good homemade cakes.

I like popcorn and ice cream but other than that not a real sweet eater.

I love the smell of vanilla, jasmine and lilacs.

Peony flowers are my favorite.

I would consider myself classic with a twist and eclectic.

I am not a really a die hard fathom person. I enjoy the comic book movies and I do watch Dr. Who from time to time... That show can be addicting. Growing up I loved Wonder Woman. I was so disappointed when I missed the MAC collection for it, sighs.

I am not a big drinker but I do love white wine and champagne. Sometimes I get a fruity cocktail depends on what mode I am in.

I love seafood, Cajun and creole foods.

If I had $1500, I would go to Apple and buy a new computer. My HP is dead.

Ok I can't remember any more,lol.


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## cobainrls (Jun 14, 2014)

Since I have started working at starbucks (alittle over a year now) I love me some coffee. I usually just drink 1 cup in the am. I love their tea as well. I like to play around with the syrups and teas. My current fav is passion lemonade no classic with raspberry syrup..yum! Sometimes I will put some strawberry juice in there. I don't like the refreshers since they have splenda in them. If I have to have artificial sweetener it is sweet and low. Weird I know.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Also, steaming half and half with the vanilla bean powder and putting that in your coffee is awesome! I tried that thanks to my hubby.


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## cobainrls (Jun 14, 2014)

I would say my style is jeans and tshirt. If I had money and an important job I would love Chanel suits so that is classic. I love flip flops and toms. I haven't bought clothes in years because I am super poor. I did make a bday list and put 2 dresses on their from forever 21 for my dad and mom. I hope they buy them for me for my bday!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 14, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> Since I have started working at starbucks (alittle over a year now) I love me some coffee. I usually just drink 1 cup in the am. I love their tea as well. I like to play around with the syrups and teas. My current fav is passion lemonade no classic with raspberry syrup..yum! Sometimes I will put some strawberry juice in there. I don't like the refreshers since they have splenda in them. If I have to have artificial sweetener it is sweet and low. Weird I know.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Also, steaming half and half with the vanilla bean powder and putting that in your coffee is awesome! I tried that thanks to my hubby.


One year in?? What are the first 3 of your numbers? My sister is a 125, I'm a (was a) 156, and the lady who trained both of us was a 256XXX yes! 6 digits!


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## cobainrls (Jun 14, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> One year in?? What are the first 3 of your numbers? My sister is a 125, I'm a (was a) 156, and the lady who trained both of us was a 256XXX yes! 6 digits!


189 but i have 7 digits..did you? My husband worked there 2008-2012 and he was 158


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## ashleylind (Jun 14, 2014)

I avoid caffeinated beverages, so I don't drink coffee or tea. I know there's decaf, but that sounds silly.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

My style would be classic. Although, I work from home now, so I wear yoga pants quite a bit.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 14, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> 189 but i have 7 digits..did you? My husband worked there 2008-2012 and he was 158


I was a 7 digit! Your husband must have been hired in the summer/latter half of summer.

Baristas unite! My boyfriend and I met working there. My older sister actually trained him and I transferred in. He's so ready to quit!!


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## BSquared (Jun 14, 2014)

Coffee all the way!! I can't function without it. I don't really drink tea unless I'm sick but I looovvveeee iced tea! Especially sweet tea. It's a dream of mine to own a house in Georgia with a gigantic front porch where I can just sit and drink sweet tea and wave at people all day lol


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## meaganola (Jun 14, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> I avoid caffeinated beverages, so I don't drink coffee or tea. I know there's decaf, but that sounds silly.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Decaf is a lie!  There's still caffeine in there.  I lovelove*love* iced tea, and I'll make decaf iced tea so I can drink it all day on the weekends, but I have to stop at about 5pm because there's still enough caffeine in there to keep me awake if I drink it in the evening.

(There are non-caffeinated herbal teas that are awesome, but I'm not wild about drinking those iced.)

(I'm also a big coffee drinker.  I'm pretty sure it's genetic.  My dad, his brothers, and their dad were all timber cutters, and I think you are required to drink coffee *all day long* if you're a logger.  When I'm at work, we have a Keurig, so I use that because it's free, but when I'm home, I do pourover with freshly-ground coffee.  That started because I worked in an office that had really nasty coffee that tasted like ash, but I needed coffee, and I wasn't about to buy enough to make a whole pot at work, so I would just make one cup at a time for myself.  Then I moved, and I didn't want to waste money on a coffee maker since I wasn't working, so I just kept with the pourover thing since I already had an electric kettle, and filter holders are cheap.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the coffee preparation method I used because it was cheap and easy turned out to be the official new hipster way to do things.)


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 14, 2014)

Summer swappers? Is this set of flatware cute? I love them but I feel like they're too statementy. Maybe good for parties? Someone tell me they're not cute. Oh the joys of outfitting a new residence...

http://www.saturday.com/Geometric-Flatware/098689702698,en_US,pd.html


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## cobainrls (Jun 14, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> I was a 7 digit! Your husband must have been hired in the summer/latter half of summer.
> 
> Baristas unite! My boyfriend and I met working there. My older sister actually trained him and I transferred in. He's so ready to quit!!


After Andrew got out of the Navy he couldn't find work so he applied at starbucks and became a shift. He misses it. He is now an EMT. He quit starbucks about 2 years ago.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 14, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Summer swappers? Is this set of flatware cute? I love them but I feel like they're too statementy. Maybe good for parties? Someone tell me they're not cute. Oh the joys of outfitting a new residence...
> 
> http://www.saturday.com/Geometric-Flatware/098689702698,en_US,pd.html


Not my style personally, if that makes you feel better about not buying them!


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## cobainrls (Jun 14, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Summer swappers? Is this set of flatware cute? I love them but I feel like they're too statementy. Maybe good for parties? Someone tell me they're not cute. Oh the joys of outfitting a new residence...
> 
> http://www.saturday.com/Geometric-Flatware/098689702698,en_US,pd.html


They are cute but, I feel like they are kinda expensive. I feel like you could get just as cute or cuter somewhere else like urban outfitters or cb2.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 14, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> After Andrew got out of the Navy he couldn't find work so he applied at starbucks and became a shift. He misses it. He is now an EMT. He quit starbucks about 2 years ago.


I quit a year ago when I finished undergrad and started grad school. I don't feel apart from it since my boyfriend is a shift and my sisters been there for like 10 years (now it's her fun side job) as a shift too. I had a good team when I was a shift but man... Some of the things customers would do would be SO annoying and the proliferation of the "Secret Menu" items killed my soul. No, do not ask me for a captain crunch because I do not know what you want or how to make it your way. I DO know how to make a one pump toffee nut strawberries and cream though. If you want something that's secret, you should know what it is and be able to articulate what you want! &gt;.&gt; end rant.

But yay baristas  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## tulosai (Jun 14, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> They are cute but, I feel like they are kinda expensive. I feel like you could get just as cute or cuter somewhere else like urban outfitters or cb2.


This.  I don't like them personally, but that is a style preference   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I can see where they are fun.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 14, 2014)

tulosai said:


> This. I don't like them personally, but that is a style preference  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I can see where they are fun.


Lol I actually am disliking them more and more I see them I think this is an excellent sign to put the credit card and birchbox promos away


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## meaganola (Jun 14, 2014)

I get one of three things at Starbucks:  Venti hazelnut mocha, venti hazelnut mocha Frappuccino with an extra shot (if I'm awake enough to remember, no whipped cream on that one because I hate whipped cream on cold drinks.  It leaves a weird film on the roof of my mouth), and a trente (is that the right word?  The really really big one) black iced tea with two Sweet'n'lows.  How annoying are those to baristas?  I actually hate Starbucks coffee unless it has chocolate and flavored syrup in it (and these things are the only time I drink sugared beverages), but it's *right next* to my office, so I end up going there every single Tuesday to get ready for a day from hell.  I might be stopping there this Monday as well because it's going to be Pain Week at work.  I'm just wondering how guilty I should feel for ordering these things.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 14, 2014)

Makeup Remover - I'm still trying to find the perfect products for me. For now, I use Simple wipes &amp; Cetaphil cleanser.  I need to remember to pick up some of Cetaphil's new cleansing cloths!
 

Company/Product I want to try -  Nars. I stare at their products every time I go to Sephora.  That's the only thing I can really think of, but i'm sure there are tons of things I *need* to try...  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Item I lust after - LUSH made Avowash (same scent as the Avobath bomb, which is my favorite LUSH product) shower gel for a limited run and I really wanted some, but it was expensive! 

Fandoms - I like a lot of things that have fandoms, but i'm more of a casual fan.  Harry Potter, Buffy, Firefly...etc. I'd love to go to Comic-Con!

My style - I'm a jeans/tshirt/sneakers kinda gal. I don't really have a style. 

Coffee/Tea - I like both!  Coffee makes me sleepy, though.  I'm a southern gal so my favorite tea is the very sweet kind.


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## cobainrls (Jun 14, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I get one of three things at Starbucks:  Venti hazelnut mocha, venti hazelnut mocha Frappuccino with an extra shot (if I'm awake enough to remember, no whipped cream on that one because I hate whipped cream on cold drinks.  It leaves a weird film on the roof of my mouth), and a trente (is that the right word?  The really really big one) black iced tea with two Sweet'n'lows.  How annoying are those to baristas?  I actually hate Starbucks coffee unless it has chocolate and flavored syrup in it (and these things are the only time I drink sugared beverages), but it's *right next* to my office, so I end up going there every single Tuesday to get ready for a day from hell.  I might be stopping there this Monday as well because it's going to be Pain Week at work.  I'm just wondering how guilty I should feel for ordering these things.


The hot venti hazelnut mocha is easy. frappuccinos are kinda a pain but, its because of happy hour and everyone orders one since its hot outside. BUT, yours is okay. It is not 10 different syrups with all teh drizzles and toppings we have plus a banana and whipped cream.  Your tea is the easiest because it is a tea. I love making teas and iced chai teas. They are my favorite because they are the easiest. But, you should get what you want..its your money and it is our job. If we want to witch about making a drink then I should get another job  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 15, 2014)

@@meaganola yours is fine

I've had serious PITA regulars. I'm talking about please count the ice cubes in my frappucino before you blend type. Or, I want THIS much water in my chai type. And if it was too runny or too thick then I would have to remake it. This one customer also dropped the entire venti on a patio table outside and then she stood there and stared as I cleaned it up. My favorite thing I've ever heard: "you're getting frappucino on my poodle". well, don't leave your poodle under the table and ask me to clean the mess at the same time!!

Her drink was a venti 4 pump peppermint 4 pump mocha 9-11 pump roast with easy base syrup light scoop of the yellow size peppermint mocha frappucino. Oh and sometimes with whip sometimes without. But she wildnt say which. If you gave her whip on a non whip day then that would mean you'd have to remake it. She would also hover by the blenders.

another thing to not do is ask for something extra hot and no foam. I will make you wait for the foam to settle. Also, don't ask for something at 200 degrees and complain it's too hot and the milk tastes burnt. Because yes, 200 degrees is very hot. And yes, milk burns before that temperature.

lol I should quit sharing stories while I'm ahead.

In short, @@meaganola , your drinks are nothing to worry about.


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## cobainrls (Jun 15, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @@meaganola yours is fine
> 
> I've had serious PITA regulars. I'm talking about please count the ice cubes in my frappucino before you blend type. Or, I want THIS much water in my chai type. And if it was too runny or too thick then I would have to remake it. This one customer also dropped the entire venti on a patio table outside and then she stood there and stared as I cleaned it up. My favorite thing I've ever heard: "you're getting frappucino on my poodle". well, don't leave your poodle under the table and ask me to clean the mess at the same time!!
> 
> ...


I also love when people ask for light ice and a shot in their "frapp" and then say its too runny. REALLY? Also don't ask for no foam on a caramel macchiato. That defeats the purpose and upside down with whip. Or the people who ask for the extra "frapp" left over and then pout when someone new makes their drink and they don't know.  Yes, I think I should end rant. BUT to anyone who goes to starbucks please order all your drinks at the speaker. Don't get up to the window and order 10 more drinks and then complain that your drink is made wrong because you ordered a hot coffee instead of an iced coffee. If you don't know or have questions asked..for the love of all thing pure and holy.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 15, 2014)

Also, don't ask for a caramel macchiato upside down and get annoyed when I put the caramel on the bottom. That is upside down. Oh did you want a vanilla latte with caramel on top?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 15, 2014)

LOL ok done.


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## SaraP (Jun 15, 2014)

I'm one of the picky ones, but I never complain...I have 2 orders venti Pikes Place, extra cream and 4 splendas or venti iced coffee, light ice 4 splendas and extra cream.

If it's made right I'm in heaven and if not I grumble to myself as I only drink half. I also always get a venti ice water and I that's never a problem, except at this one Starbucks that tells me they can only give me a grande. I then tell them I'll have 2  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I had so 3 different roommates in college that worked there and would bring home pastries and muffins, I never had to buy breakfast.


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## meaganola (Jun 15, 2014)

I've had a couple of baristas ask me if I like my mocha made a certain way, like extra sweet or with vanilla.  Unfortunately for them, they're asking at 6:30 in the morning, and all I can do is stare blankly at them, shrug, and say, "I don't know."  We're all lucky I can remember that I drink venti hazelnut mochas!

(There was one afternoon when I had to enter a custom beverage on my iPhone app and show it to the cashier because I had LOST MY VOICE and needed something icy.  Fortunately, the barista that day was someone I think recognizes me enough to know I wasn't being some demanding customer from hell.  I just needed a non-dairy non-caffeinated slushy beverage, and apple juice blended with ice was the best I could come up with since I didn't have cash for a Slurpee run, but I had money on my Starbucks card.)


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 15, 2014)

I think the only thing I have ever had at Starbucks is an almond croissant.


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## sstich79 (Jun 15, 2014)

A little catching up to do!

Fandom: I can't say I'm invested enough in anything to call myself part of a "fandom." (Although if the show "Wonderfalls" hadn't been tragically cancelled FAR too soon, I'm pretty sure I would be the queen of that fandom.) I guess the show I heart the most is "The Walking Dead," if that helps.

My style: I wouldn't even know how to describe my style. I live for sundresses in the summer... hate all winter clothing in general... wear big obnoxious rings, don't do a lot of necklaces, barely ever wear bracelets. Umm, I like pretty shoes? Seriously, though, I need a personal shopper because I actually hate shopping for clothing.

Coffee/tea: I have a Keurig, and I love trying new K-cups... some of my favorites are Green Mountain's Nantucket Blend, Kahlua, Gloria Jean's Butter Toffee and Macadamia Nut Cookie, and I'm always looking for the perfect hazelnut one. Before the Keurig, I pretty much lived on Eight O'Clock Coffee's vanilla coffee. I'm a night-shift nurse, so coffee is pretty much a food group. Sugar, no cream, and sorry to the Starbucks crew, but I just can't get down with the overly complicated foofy stuff that costs $8 an ounce. I try to "Keep Louisville Weird" by supporting local businesses, and we've got some great local coffeeshops where I can nerd out playing Scrabble for hours and drinking chai. Mmmm, chai. Love chai, like some herbal teas (love peppermint tea with a little honey), not big on black teas or iced tea (I think I will probably lose my Southerner membership card for saying that I can't stand sweet tea).


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## jednashley (Jun 15, 2014)

Is there a tread where we can watch or read past box reveals on other swaps  - just curious to see how these have worked before since I am new to this  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

have had SO much fun shopping and spoiling my buddy...hopefully she will like all the stuff I've picked  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jednashley (Jun 15, 2014)

sstich79  Absolutely LOVE the walking dead - a really great show.  I still need to check up with the end of season 4 but it is definitely one of my top shows to watch.
Besides that I LOVE Game of thrones - a total addict!


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## Kelli (Jun 15, 2014)

Here is the one from Christmas time:

https://www.makeuptalk.com/f/topic/128019-spoilers-secret-santa-2013-presents-revealed/


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## CurlyTails (Jun 15, 2014)

I made my first purchase for my swap buddy! Plus, I used a gift card and a coupon, so my budget is still in tact! This is so much fun and a great stress reliever!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 15, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I made my first purchase for my swap buddy! Plus, I used a gift card and a coupon, so my budget is still in tact! This is so much fun and a great stress reliever!


I've got everything planned out and exactly where my actual $25 spent is going to go. And I've got grand plans for all the other things I'm getting with points/gift cards! This is so much fun!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 15, 2014)

Oh I have a coffee story...I used to always go to Caribou since there was always line out the door at Starbucks and they were sold out of spinach wraps by 8:30.  I would order a Mint condition with sugar free chocolate instead of regular, well one day the girl who made my drink for months goes, "Oh you wanted SF chocolate _instead_ of regular? I've been giving you both this whole time!"  She was laughing about it but I was pissed! She basically snuck me thousands of calories without me knowing! I've never ordered that drink since lol.  I like to get Brueggers coffee now, it's 1/2 the price and about once a week I get my drink/food free (I think the cashier has a crush on me) plus they are so much faster.  I also just stocked up on a bunch of Starbucks Via packets for summer, those are good too and then I know exactly what's in them!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 15, 2014)

@@Lolo22 omg, thats hilarious but also ridiculous. why would anyone want BOTH? thats so much syrup!

I've just traded with a bunch of MUTers to get a good chunk of my Swap Buddy's wishlist knocked out. I feel so relieved to have that portion done! its nice to get rid of a bunch of stuff at the same time! How is everyone else's shopping going?

If you're getting anxious having a swap buddy without a list, please feel free to use a roadie to ask some questions or encourage your buddy to start coming up with some more info  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jun 15, 2014)

Okay, I recognize this is really random (it was just mentioned on, of all things, a _Game of Thrones_ podcast I was listening to a few minutes ago), but is anyone else here enough of a nerd to have their MINDS BLOWN by the E.T. Atari game cartridges buried in a landfill urban legend that turned out to be *true*?  

I placed a few orders yesterday, so I'm getting a start, but I have more to go!  I got the long-TAT indie stuff ordered, so now I'm going to have to wait until next weekend (read:  after payday) to do much more shopping.

Oh!  This is something that we did over on Midsummer that I think would be useful over here:  a Birchbox-specific section on wishlists!  I'm sitting on many points that I would *love* to use on my person, but I have *no clue* what they would like, and I know I'm not alone in this.  If you are so inclined, this might be a fantastic thing to add to your wishlist!  (It's not possible to share Birchbox Favorites lists.  I specifically asked, and the CS person who answered my email acted like this was something that had never occurred to them.)


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## rachelshine (Jun 15, 2014)

@@meaganola so very smart!! I shall get on that  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

As for coffee v tea - I actually try not to have ANY caffeine really. I noticed it definitely brings on my migraines and I am just uber sensitive to it. I gave up soda eons ago and mostly drink water (and booze, shhh). I do like peppermint tea though! *EDIT, I forgot, I also loveee chai tea too NOM NOM. OMG I also forgot that I love green tea too. 

I am on a buying SPREE right now for my gal. But I've also been using coupons, gift cards, and sales so I still have some wiggle room with the budget, muahah. I just need her to be posting a bit more so I can get the non-beauty stuff down  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 15, 2014)

@@meaganola birchbox wishlist is a great idea!

i was on the fence about getting myself a kate spade small weekender bag with points, but i would much rather spend points on my swap buddy!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 15, 2014)

I've added a Birchbox wish list to my Summerswap list!


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## DonnaD (Jun 15, 2014)

I'm done with my gifts.  I spent $25 on one item then bought another item she had on her midsummer survey.  I bought a couple of smaller things and I'm done with what I wanted to make for her.  So now I just have to wrap everything up and box it and hold onto it for a month lol.

I, girls, am a veritable paragon of swap shopping!


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## DonnaD (Jun 15, 2014)

On the other hand, I'm not done with my gifts for @@puppymomofthree who is my unofficial midsummer fairy goddaughter.  I'm working on something extra special for her.  I hope she posts her reveal here as well as on the midsummer thread!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 15, 2014)

I just added a birchbox wishlist to my Summerswap link in case my swapper needs more info!

I just placed a BB order for my swap buddy. I really wanted to add those $6 French bull cutting mats for myself but it made my balance wonky (you know, that pesky $1-$2 over so it eats more points) so I had to let them go.


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## rachelshine (Jun 15, 2014)

@ you're too sweet! Can't wait for reveals so we can all see what we've been getting for each other!!
 

I also can't wait to get the more in depth survey for my gal too, I know I should probably be waiting for that before I buy more, but I have such grabby hands right now! 

Ps, I am now just clicking on errrryones profile to throw her off my trail!


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## jayeme (Jun 15, 2014)

Along with trying to figure out what to get my person, I am also trying to figure out who is currently shopping for me! Since I posted that crazy long swap list I guess it can't be anyone saying they don't have much to work with...  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I really can't wait to find out! For my part, I'm glad I have time to shop around, but I am also so impatient! 

And now I'm going to go to CVS and see what I can find that fits my girl's list with some coupons I have  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jesemiaud (Jun 15, 2014)

I updated my swaplist link with some BB faves.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jun 15, 2014)

I'm a crazy planner and my husband picked up my summer swap lists (yes more then one) and rolled his eyes...I've had so much fun :couch:  stalking h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> and thinking of how to make the gift more perfect! I hope she loves it! I

:mussical:  I just want to thank @ and @@Babs28 for putting this whole thing together  :wub:


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## BSquared (Jun 15, 2014)

If my person is reading this, I have no birchbox!! So I probably want all of it!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## BSquared (Jun 15, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @ you're too sweet! Can't wait for reveals so we can all see what we've been getting for each other!!
> 
> I also can't wait to get the more in depth survey for my gal too, I know I should probably be waiting for that before I buy more, but I have such grabby hands right now!
> 
> Ps, I am now just clicking on errrryones profile to throw her off my trail!


Me too!! I've picked up 2 non beauty related things I think (hope?) she'll like but I'm trying to wait until I get the survey responses to get anything beauty related. It's hard though!


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## Dashery (Jun 15, 2014)

I added a BB list to my wish list! Just in case my gal is still looking. 

And I hope my giftee does the same. I've got some points to burn!  :sunshine:  (Wohoo. Burning up like the sun!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> )


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## sstich79 (Jun 15, 2014)

Can I make a Birchbox list for my person if I don't subscribe to BB? Or I guess I could just add a BB-specific section to my regular list...


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## Dashery (Jun 15, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Can I make a Birchbox list for my person if I don't subscribe to BB? Or I guess I could just add a BB-specific section to my regular list...


I think so. You could just go through the site and link to whatever it is you like. Which is basically how I did it, and I already sub to BB.


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## meaganola (Jun 15, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Can I make a Birchbox list for my person if I don't subscribe to BB? Or I guess I could just add a BB-specific section to my regular list..





Dashery said:


> I think so. You could just go through the site and link to whatever it is you like. Which is basically how I did it, and I already sub to BB.


You don't need to subscribe to Birchbox in order to shop on the site or get points!  But!  There is no way to make your Favorites list (the Birchbox equivalent of a wishlist) visible to anyone else, subscriber or not.  You basically have to make a BB-specific section on your wishlist here on the forum.


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## valeried44 (Jun 15, 2014)

In an effort to help with ideas, if needed, I edited my list with more ideas (including more specifics).  I didn't put a BB specific wishlist, but there are things on there that can be found at BB.  In the non-beauty department, I'm at a loss. I have no specific taste or style - I'm truly, very laid back and easy going.  Home items, outdoor/garden decorations, socks, snacks, accessories, etc in any form, color, flavor, scent would be welcomed and loved.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 15, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> On the other hand, I'm not done with my gifts for @@puppymomofthree who is my unofficial midsummer fairy goddaughter.  I'm working on something extra special for her.  I hope she posts her reveal here as well as on the midsummer thread!!


Your wish is my command!


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## DonnaD (Jun 15, 2014)

I added some birchbox stuff to my cheat sheet...mostly facial moisturizers and hand creams I want to try.


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## Babs28 (Jun 15, 2014)

I'm sorry to whoever is my poor swap buddy. I have tried about 7 times now to put my "Wish List" together and I just freeze. I have such a hard time telling people what I would like to receive as gifts (ironic given that I love the whole gift exchange idea and I have no issues telling people how I feel). I'm trying and failing miserably!!!


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## SaraP (Jun 15, 2014)

Anyone here like Bath and Body Works? Fave product or scent???


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## rachelshine (Jun 15, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Me too!! I've picked up 2 non beauty related things I think (hope?) she'll like but I'm trying to wait until I get the survey responses to get anything beauty related. It's hard though!


Ps I didn't forget about swatching for you!! Will do it tomorrow when I have good light  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Dashery (Jun 15, 2014)

I used to love their Japanese Cherry Blossom. I wore it every day in high school. But then I think they changed the formula or something,  because it just hasn't smelled the same to me in a while.

I haven't been in there in probably years though, so I don't even know what they sell anymore.


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## DonnaD (Jun 15, 2014)

sarap said:


> Anyone here like Bath and Body Works? Fave product or scent???


LOVE(!!!!) B&amp;BW foaming hand soaps.  I buy every couple of months...usually whatever 6 bottle scents of the season sets.  My kids, best friend and sister come over specifically to look in the cabinet where I keep them and "accidentally" steal one.

My favourite hand soap scent is Dancing Waters but, for real, I've liked most of them except for some cherry merlot scent that smelled like luden's cough drops and Moonlight Path.  Hate that one.

I like to buy the teeny candles when they're a buck apiece.  They last a good 8 hrs in my bathroom to make it smell pretty.

I like the body butters too.  Sheer Freesia was my fav.  I think they discontinued it...dirty rat bastards.


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## BSquared (Jun 15, 2014)

sarap said:


> Anyone here like Bath and Body Works? Fave product or scent???


ALL OF THEM. Unfortunately most of the ones I love are either discontinued or about to be. I miss the late 90s when they just had a scent lineup and didn't change it every other month. 
My all time favorite is probably old school pear berry. I like sea island cotton. I like coconut vanilla from the signature vanilla line. I love sweet on Paris (R.I.P). I love the Tokyo lotus and apple line they had (I'm hoarding right now because it's on clearance for the sale), air and sky from this spring's line. And I looovvveeeee Malibu heat. It smells really "young" and I am not young but I don't care. I love it for summer.

Carried Away was nice too.

I love their candles too but I can't list all my favorite scents or this would be a novel. So top 5:

1. Leaves

1.5 mahogany teekwood (tied as my fave)

2. S'mores (this NEEDS TO COME BACK)

3. Coconut leaves

4. Merry cookie

5. Market peach


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## jayeme (Jun 15, 2014)

Hey, question for you guys. I still haven't read through all of my person's posts (there are a lot!), but I haven't seen anything written about books. I love to read so I think it's a nice extra - do you all think it's okay if I just throw in a book I enjoyed? Of course, it'd be a secondhand book so it wouldn't count against the budget, and if she doesn't like it she can pass it on to someone who does, right?


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## SaraP (Jun 15, 2014)

I thought maybe that's something my swappee may like, I use their foaming hand soaps and love 'em.

Anyone love Victoria Secret scents?

I love Hello Darling during the spring and summer, Amber Romance during the fall and winter.


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## SaraP (Jun 15, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Hey, question for you guys. I still haven't read through all of my person's posts (there are a lot!), but I haven't seen anything written about books. I love to read so I think it's a nice extra - do you all think it's okay if I just throw in a book I enjoyed? Of course, it'd be a secondhand book so it wouldn't count against the budget, and if she doesn't like it she can pass it on to someone who does, right?


YES!! Even if they aren't really into books, you never know what can spark a fire...


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## dancersmum (Jun 15, 2014)

@@jayeme  I'm an avid reader...though lately too busy to read...but tbh my husband has always hated it about me lol - I get lost in a book and no one can speak to me!  I have 2 kids that are the same but the 3rd is more like him and hates reading...unfortunately he's also the one thats currently stuck in a wheelchair  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  but he's slowly improving...


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## jayeme (Jun 15, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@jayeme  I'm an avid reader...though lately too busy to read...but tbh my husband has always hated it about me lol - I get lost in a book and no one can speak to me!  I have 2 kids that are the same but the 3rd is more like him and hates reading...unfortunately he's also the one thats currently stuck in a wheelchair  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  but he's slowly improving...


To be honest, I really don't understand people who don't read! I understand being busy, but, seriously,  never reading? I just don't get it. One of my brothers has probably read less than a dozen books in his whole life, and that's just crazy to me!


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## heath67013 (Jun 15, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Hey, question for you guys. I still haven't read through all of my person's posts (there are a lot!), but I haven't seen anything written about books. I love to read so I think it's a nice extra - do you all think it's okay if I just throw in a book I enjoyed? Of course, it'd be a secondhand book so it wouldn't count against the budget, and if she doesn't like it she can pass it on to someone who does, right?


I think that's a great idea! I love sitting outside at night with a glass of wine reading when the weather allows.


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## DonnaD (Jun 15, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Hey, question for you guys. I still haven't read through all of my person's posts (there are a lot!), but I haven't seen anything written about books. I love to read so I think it's a nice extra - do you all think it's okay if I just throw in a book I enjoyed? Of course, it'd be a secondhand book so it wouldn't count against the budget, and if she doesn't like it she can pass it on to someone who does, right?


I love reading and I'd be tickled to receive a book my swap buddy had read and enjoyed.

Oh and the B&amp;BW thing?  I don't like anything scented of coconut or vanilla.  I do like black raspberry vanilla and sandalwood vanilla scents though.


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## SaraP (Jun 15, 2014)

I believe if you find the right content everyone is a reader. Often it's just not introduced correctly. Parents often state my son/daughter hates to read, come to find out they like comic books. I try to push any reading is good reading, comic book are awesome, they are the perfect stepping stone!


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## DonnaD (Jun 15, 2014)

jayeme said:


> To be honest, I really don't understand people who don't read! I understand being busy, but, seriously,  never reading? I just don't get it. One of my brothers has probably read less than a dozen books in his whole life, and that's just crazy to me!


My husband doesn't read books but he reads techie stuff on the internet constantly.  He doesn't read for pleasure, but for learning.  I'm good with reading for learning but I don't understand why he doesn't ever read for pleasure,  It's very odd to me.


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## LolaJay (Jun 15, 2014)

I love books! I especially love sharing my favorites with others. Sometimes they don't care but I share anyway!

I don't know much about coffee - just started drinking it about 5 years ago. I used to ABSOLUTELY hate the smell, like it would make me gag when my mom made it. Then I caved under peer pressure (you don't see too many teachers without their GIANT coffee cups) and I tried it, and I liked it! I don't usually stray far from what I like....which is Tim Horton's iced coffee  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Now I have to go back to studying for my exam on Wednesday. Only 400 flash cards to memorize....uhhgg!


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## sstich79 (Jun 15, 2014)

Oh, I'd love to get a book that my person enjoyed! I have always been an avid reader, and as I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, I dream of having a floor-to-ceiling library with a red rolling ladder. I actually am in the process of refinishing an old library card catalog right now, because I love books and libraries so much, and card catalogs bring back warm memories. I used to have over a thousand books, but ended up unloading a lot of them because I got tired of moving them from place to place. (Side note: anyone else here familiar with BookCrossing.com? I used to be very active on that website, although I've gotten out of the habit... so much fun!) Silly pickiness, though... I kind of don't like reading the regular-sized paperbacks... I feel like the larger-sized "trade paperbacks" and hardcover books are just generally a little easier to handle and read.

I haven't really shopped at Bath &amp; Body Works since high school / college, so I don't know what I like there anymore. Over the years, I've tended to find comparable body products cheaper at Walmart, Walgreens, etc... although lately I've found myself hooked on Pacifica, which is spendier than I remember BBW being!


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## Kelli (Jun 15, 2014)

I love to read, so would be interested in any book my person likes!

I also love Bath and Body Works. My list of favorites/ones I like is super long, so I'll just say the only ones I don't love are any of the Vanilla based ones, Twilight Woods and Sensual Amber.

I guess my absolute favorite is Butterfly Flower, but it's one that they took away for a while, then brought back just during the semi-annual sales, now I think it might be available online only. I don't know, they change it so much.

For the VS scents, when I was in college I loved Love Spell. There was another one that smelled like Pixie Stix to me, but I can't remember the name of it.


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## Dashery (Jun 15, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Hey, question for you guys. I still haven't read through all of my person's posts (there are a lot!), but I haven't seen anything written about books. I love to read so I think it's a nice extra - do you all think it's okay if I just throw in a book I enjoyed? Of course, it'd be a secondhand book so it wouldn't count against the budget, and if she doesn't like it she can pass it on to someone who does, right?


I vote yes to all the books! I might have to throw one in for my giftee as well!


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## Dashery (Jun 15, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> Now I have to go back to studying for my exam on Wednesday. Only 400 flash cards to memorize....uhhgg!


YOU CAN DOOOOOOOO ITTT!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Good luck!

As for the coffee thing: no, no! No caffeine over here, thank you! I'll _maybe _drink tea if I feel like using all those pretty tea cups I've collected.... :blush:


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## trekkersangel (Jun 15, 2014)

I love books too. I don't have a ton of time to read, but I do read a few minutes here &amp; there when I can.

As for BBW &amp; Victorias Secret, I love both! I'm a very food/fruity person so I get their lotions, bath stuff, soap, &amp; candles in food smells. Anything fresh fruit or piña colada is my favorite in the summer &amp; then I love pears, apples, cinnamon, &amp; pumpkin smells in the fall.


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 15, 2014)

I'm way behind again, I'll get a birchbox wish list up on my summer swap link.

Coffee? Yes, black or with heavy cream. Iced in the summer.  Tea? Iced unsweetened.  Peach tea from Nordstroms or Passion or Green from the bux.  I wish starbucks had a line for people who just want coffee. I hate waiting for all those damn drinks to be made. ha!

B&amp;BW &amp; Victoria's Secret: I work there, please swap buddy don't send me any.  I have more than enough, I spent about $50 there this weekend!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 15, 2014)

Bath and Body Works: I absolutely love the Fresh Bamboo scent, which was funny because I went to a BBW store and asked if they had that, the guy said they haven't had it in 2 years and I was like the candles are on the website... I like most of their florals, and I like herb and food scents as well. Fruits are good as long as they aren't sickly sweet. 

Victoria Secret: Never really smelled anything of theirs.

Books: Yes! I love them! I included my Goodreads profile on my list because I've read a lot, and I have a huge to read list. I'd love to read your favorite swap person!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 15, 2014)

bsquared said:


> ALL OF THEM. Unfortunately most of the ones I love are either discontinued or about to be. I miss the late 90s when they just had a scent lineup and didn't change it every other month.
> 
> My all time favorite is probably old school pear berry. I like sea island cotton. I like coconut vanilla from the signature vanilla line. I love sweet on Paris (R.I.P). I love the Tokyo lotus and apple line they had (I'm hoarding right now because it's on clearance for the sale), air and sky from this spring's line. And I looovvveeeee Malibu heat. It smells really "young" and I am not young but I don't care. I love it for summer.
> 
> ...


OMG our love lists are so similar!! I love leaves, s'mores, coconut leaves, tiki beach, frosted cupcake, Paris [something rather], black sands, rainforest sugarcane, a lot more of them that I probably can't think of. There was also a line around the holidays that was really good too, like little black dress or something like that.
I haven't bought beauty stuff from VS in awhile but I liked Berry Kiss and Sweet Daydream. I think those are both discontinued though. Their body butters are amazing, and the Pink line is always good even though its changed a lot.


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## valeried44 (Jun 15, 2014)

Books are a great idea!  I got a Nook for my birthday last year, so I mostly read on that (more for convenience and Free Book Fridays than anything else), but I still like to have a real book in my hand sometimes.  When I'm done with them, I give them to my mom to take to work for their book exchange, so others can enjoy too.  

I LOVE BBW's foaming hand soaps and body creams.  I haven't found a summer scent that I haven't liked and like vanilla, coconut and fruit based scents.  Most of their floral scents tend to be a little stronger than I like.  

I've never tried any of VS bath and body products.  Only because I've never shopped there - I've just never felt compelled to shop there.  I'm weird. I know.  And I'm ok with it.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dancersmum (Jun 15, 2014)

@@SaraP - nope my son doesn't even like comic books much - he's read exactly on series for pleasure ever...I bought him every book in it as I was amazed he liked it...

Nowadays the only thing he will read without being told to is video game reviews or scripts of plays he's in!

We have tried everything I can think of...the only book he will "browse" are those crazy fact books but his idea of reading is 5 mins...the child doesn't like to sit still which makes reading a little tricky lol  His brother on the other hand will sneak up at 4am to have 3 hours uninterupted reading time - they couldn't be more different in that regards.   The kindle for his has been a life saver as I no longer haul a library of 20 books for him when we travel...just the kindle and my creditcard!


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## Christa W (Jun 15, 2014)

YAY for books!  We actually have a full on library in our house.  Granted it's mainly made up of comic books, Warhammer, and D&amp;D novels.  I tried to buy my boyfriend a Kindle once and he said he'd only use it as a book end.


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## tulosai (Jun 15, 2014)

sarap said:


> Anyone here like Bath and Body Works? Fave product or scent???


I used to be REALLY into them but have mostly stepped away, largely because I still have several giant bottles of theirs I will never finish.... BUT

I LOVE their candles! Really ALL their candles!

AND, like @@DonnaD I love their foaming soaps.  These are the only two thing I buy there on the regular now and I could definitely always use more of either.  No particular scents, or even actually scents to avoid.  I usually just cycle through the seasonal ones!



jayeme said:


> Hey, question for you guys. I still haven't read through all of my person's posts (there are a lot!), but I haven't seen anything written about books. I love to read so I think it's a nice extra - do you all think it's okay if I just throw in a book I enjoyed? Of course, it'd be a secondhand book so it wouldn't count against the budget, and if she doesn't like it she can pass it on to someone who does, right?


Hahaha welll I know you don't have me but I think books are awesome to throw in.


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## BSquared (Jun 15, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> OMG our love lists are so similar!! I love leaves, s'mores, coconut leaves, tiki beach, frosted cupcake, Paris [something rather], black sands, rainforest sugarcane, a lot more of them that I probably can't think of. There was also a line around the holidays that was really good too, like little black dress or something like that.
> 
> I haven't bought beauty stuff from VS in awhile but I liked Berry Kiss and Sweet Daydream. I think those are both discontinued though. Their body butters are amazing, and the Pink line is always good even though its changed a lot.


Yes!! Black tie and party dress and champagne toast! I have one party dress candle and one champagne wallflower left so I hope they bring them back this year!


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## emilylithium (Jun 15, 2014)

gotta catch up with the questions!

Fandoms: so many!! Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, Doctor Who, Sherlock, How I Met your mother (don't know if this one is counted as fandom, but anyways), big bang theory.  Oh wait, how can I forget Star Trek!!

Style: As someone just got out of college on the East Coast, I have definitely been pretty into preppy/classic style, i like J Crew, but also likes lots of Anthropologie stuff, loves stripes, pastel colors, loafers, that kind of stuff.

tea/coffee: sadly, I can't drink coffee even though I like it, gives me the worst headaches. I love tea though, esp black tea, doesn't like herbal tea.

brands i'd like to try: more Josie Maran stuff - all their stuff smell amazing!, introduce me to more brands of makeup brushes too.

books: i love reading! love fictions mostly, sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, or classics. too many favorite books to name, but a recent favorite is the maddaddam trilogy, HBO is going to make a new TV show based on it, and i am beyond excited about this


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## dancersmum (Jun 15, 2014)

BBW &amp; Vic Sec - not a fan of scented things in general (migraine trigger) so I stick to non scented candles &amp; if I want nice smells in the house I diffuse essential oils in water with a tealight normally.


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## Kelli (Jun 15, 2014)

I just added a Birchbox list in my summerswap list if my person is one who has some BB points to use.


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## SaraP (Jun 15, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@SaraP - nope my son doesn't even like comic books much - he's read exactly on series for pleasure ever...I bought him every book in it as I was amazed he liked it...
> 
> Nowadays the only thing he will read without being told to is video game reviews or scripts of plays he's in!
> 
> We have tried everything I can think of...the only book he will "browse" are those crazy fact books but his idea of reading is 5 mins...the child doesn't like to sit still which makes reading a little tricky lol  His brother on the other hand will sneak up at 4am to have 3 hours uninterupted reading time - they couldn't be more different in that regards.   The kindle for his has been a life saver as I no longer haul a library of 20 books for him when we travel...just the kindle and my creditcard!


Isn't it funny how different our kids personalities are from each other! It's some nature, some nurture  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Even 5 minutes of Skimming is great, Skimming can turn into more in a flash!  What series did he like? My hubby was a children's librarian, now he does programing bit still focused heavily on children.


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## Babs28 (Jun 15, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@jayeme  I'm an avid reader...though lately too busy to read...but tbh my husband has always hated it about me lol - I get lost in a book and no one can speak to me!


I do the same EXACT thing!  It annoys the crap out of my BF, especially because I like to sit out on the porch and read.  



sarap said:


> I believe if you find the right content everyone is a reader. Often it's just not introduced correctly. Parents often state my son/daughter hates to read, come to find out they like comic books. I try to push any reading is good reading, comic book are awesome, they are the perfect stepping stone!


My 5 year old isn't interested in books yet.  He likes to tell stories.  My mom and other parents keep trying to get me to push him to read or be read to. He's not there yet.  I'm not going to force it.  He likes comic books though and I'm fine with that. 



dancersmum said:


> His brother on the other hand will sneak up at 4am to have 3 hours uninterupted reading time - they couldn't be more different in that regards.   The kindle for his has been a life saver as I no longer haul a library of 20 books for him when we travel...just the kindle and my creditcard!


Your son and I are the same!  I will stay up for hours past my bedtime or take time in the morning to read.  I can't stop myself sometimes.  I showed up at my parents' house an hour late today because I could not put down the book I was reading. It's been a problem since I was 11!!  I'm so glad I have my kindle now!  I can carry it in my purse with access to any book I want instantly!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jun 15, 2014)

B&amp;BW/VS -- Not a fan.  I overdid it a few years ago and finally got rid of two *dozen* bottles of B&amp;BW shower gel last year, and ever since, I get kind of panicky about that store, plus everything smells the same to me.  I do like their flavored sparkly squeezy tube lip gloss, but I also have probably half a dozen tubes I should use first.

Books -- I love to read!  I'm always in the middle of reading about four different books at any given time.  There's a link to my amazon wishlist on my Midsummer dreamlist page (linked from my Summerswap page).  I'm on a big science fiction -- preferably present-day or slightly futuristic dystopias -- kick right now.  For some reason, when summer has hit the past couple of summers, I start reading Philip K. Dick.  I do not like chick lit *at all*.  Or fantasy (like, say, _Game of Thrones_.  The show is okay, but the source material?  *yawn*).  Oh, and I love horror. When I was in high school, it was all I read.


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## dancersmum (Jun 15, 2014)

@sarap 

The only series he ever wanted to read was the Spiderwick Chronicles....  Any recomendations would be most appreciated - I had no luck with him even with things his twin devoured).

I'm a crazy person when it comes to kids literature - I think I may have read more kids lit than adult lit...I have always loved it. 

@@Babs28 - I was the kid hiding in a dark bedroom way past my bedtime with a flashlight to read...my summer holidays were trips to the library - borrow maximum number to books...read them all as quickly as possible, return to library and repeat lol 

My plan this summer is to introduce the reader to His Dark Materials Trilogy (one of my favs) last year was all about LOTR - an average summer requires 30 books to keep him busy.  However this year he is more interested in the computer than I would like (11 now and harder to manage).  

My daughter is on a Haruki Murakami kick right now.  My big issue is she has decided that she misses her wall to ceiling library of books - but I don't miss the allergy issue or the space issues they created but she has a preference to read an actual book and doesn't like electronic formats...


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## lastnite629 (Jun 16, 2014)

B&amp;BW/VS -  The only thing I buy at B&amp;BW anymore are the hand soaps &amp; I like to grab a few of the pocket bacs for hubby to take to work (he's a nurse.)  I stock up when they do the decent sales on the soaps, especially around fall. We love pumpkin/cinnamon/all those fall scents.   I've got a pumpkin latte scented soap in my kitchen right now because I don't have any summery scents. lol    I have a bag full of lotions from B&amp;BW that I need to unload. I might have some discontinued stuff. I'll have to look.  Perfumes are a migraine trigger so none of that from either store for me. 
 

I love to read so i'd be thrilled to receive a book from my buddy!  I'm open to any genre.


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## bonita22 (Jun 16, 2014)

jayeme said:


> To be honest, I really don't understand people who don't read! I understand being busy, but, seriously, never reading? I just don't get it. One of my brothers has probably read less than a dozen books in his whole life, and that's just crazy to me!


I'm not a big book reader, it's just not my idea of fun. However, I do love a good interesting article. I just can't sit there for days reading the same thing (I'm very impatient). I also love a good comic book.


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## meaganola (Jun 16, 2014)

Yay, Birchbox order placed!  And the Ambien is kicking in, so that's all I'm going to say about that.  Good night!


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## Babs28 (Jun 16, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @sarap
> 
> The only series he ever wanted to read was the Spiderwick Chronicles....  Any recomendations would be most appreciated - I had no luck with him even with things his twin devoured).
> 
> ...


@@dancersmum, has your son tried reading the Percey Jackson and the Olympians Series ( a great modern day twist on Greek mythology)  or The Kane Chronicles (another great series about Egyptian mythology in modern-day America).  Both young adult and yes what I am currently reading/addicted to.  There are 9 Percy Books (2 Olympian Series: The Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus - the 10th book Comes out in October. 5 Kane Chronicles Books and next, I believe, the series intertwine.


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## sstich79 (Jun 16, 2014)

Okay, so as discussed earlier, I put together a little Birchbox wishlist just in case my buddy is a BB lady, and I tacked it onto the end of my Summerswap 2014 info page. (Man, looking through all that stuff made me kind of want to sign up for BB!)
 

I wish I could offer some young-adult book recommendations, but all my favorites are from my childhood, which I'm sure means that they're SUPER-dated, LOL! I LOVED the book "Over Sea, Under Stone," which is part of "The Dark is Rising" Sequence, and now I kind of want to dig up a copy and re-read to see how it's held up over time. Ooh, and "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler," which made me desperate to run away and live in a museum for a while!


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## SaraP (Jun 16, 2014)

@@sstich79 That's one of my favorites too! Also the PhantomToll Booth,  The Mouse and the LO Motorcycle and The Indian in the Cupboard. 

I've never read Over Sea Under Stone,  we'll have to check it out.


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## rachelshine (Jun 16, 2014)

Whoops, glad I just made a spreadsheet for what I've already purchased for my SS. Guess I've spent more than I thought!! Maybe I'll just keep some things for myself instead and then buy her other pretties with BB points  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## sstich79 (Jun 16, 2014)

@@SaraP, "The Phantom Tollbooth" is one of my favorites of all time! And it's one you can enjoy as an adult on a different level, appreciating all the witty wordplay that goes over a child's head. I remember liking "The Indian in the Cupboard" too, although I can't recall the plot, so maybe it's due for a re-read too! It'll be The Summer of the Books of My Youth.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dancersmum (Jun 16, 2014)

@@Babs28 - we have every single one of those books lol - my other son loved them and so did my daughter and I...we found them via battle of the books reading lists when my girl was young...it was so hard waiting for Rick Riordan to publish subsequent books when we started the Percy J series only the first 2 books were out lol

Actually I think one of my kids could probably lecture on the differences between greek &amp; roman mythology as he knows so much!  Once when I was reading a Neil Gaiman story to the kids...he referenced some obscure greek myth and I had to go and research it only to find out that not only was he correct but he knew way more than I could possibly know and he was 8 at the time lol

I loved The Indian in the Cupboard, The Faraway Tree, Secret Garden, The Borrowers...I could go on and on lol - I just love books lol...I still read kids books as well as adult fiction but when the world gets to be a bit too dark and depressing...(for example right after I read We Need to Talk  About Kevin)  I bury myself in kids books from young adult to those meant for much younger like The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles lol - I love just about everything but when I find things that aren't well written I find that I don't finish the book...

I actually am sad that many young people today are so electronically advanced and addicted that they will never know the true pleasure of a good story...I still occasionally read to my boys - but I really need to do it more often - there is something magical about the way a good story can ignite the imagination!  Growing up - both my brothers didn't like books...one of them had a few that he enjoyed - the other I don't remember ever reading for pleasure and as an adult I don't think I've ever seen him with a book.  My husband doesn't really read for pleasure - he's only read 2 novels in the 20 years we've been together!!  But his mother is an avid reader...so I  save my books for her lol

Actually - the kids took 3 place with a cake they made for Books2eat once with a percy Jackson entry lol - everything was edible!


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## sstich79 (Jun 16, 2014)

Argh... after making that Birchbox list earlier, then rage-cancelling my second Ipsy bag, I decided to use that $10 on a Birchbox sub instead. The problem is, now I want to buy some of the things I put on my BB swap wishlist! I'm thinking, "Ooh, I could buy THAT for my swappee... and THAT for me... because I've got a promo code for 20% off, and I'd get some points in this fancy points system that's so much better than Ipsy... and what if the person who's got me isn't a Birchbox user and won't be using my BB list in the first place?" Someone talk me down!


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## Babs28 (Jun 16, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@Babs28 -
> 
> Actually I think one of my kids could probably lecture on the differences between greek &amp; roman mythology as he knows so much!  Once when I was reading a Neil Gaiman story to the kids...he referenced some obscure greek myth and I had to go and research it only to find out that not only was he correct but he knew way more than I could possibly know and he was 8 at the time lol
> 
> ...


I LOVE Greek and Roman mythology although I don't know as much as I would like. I find it fascinating.  It's silly,  I know, but I have several very PLAIN kotinos that I love wearing. I wear them as regular headbands, not as crowns. I get comments all the time from people saying, "Your headband looks like a Grecian Laurel Wreath" and I just laugh because that is what it is meant to look like. 

I actually learned about Percy Jackson and the Kane Chronicles about 6 weeks ago from a one star General who read them over the course of the last few years.  Another senior civilian is the one who loaned me the books and the whole department (made up of all senior military &amp; civilian staff love the books &amp; Harry Potter save for 1) is anxiously waiting for the next Percy book to come out. They have a countdown with no title so when you enter their area you think it's something ominous or super important in terms of MILOPS.  I think what you say is true of a lot of people, when the world gets a bit too dark and depressing, they look to "lighter" reading and the "heroes".

That cake is AMAZING!!  MMMM!!!


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## Babs28 (Jun 16, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@Babs28 - we have every single one of those books lol - my other son loved them and so did my daughter and I...we found them via battle of the books reading lists when my girl was young...it was so hard waiting for Rick Riordan to publish subsequent books when we started the Percy J series only the first 2 books were out lol


I was like that with the Harry Potter books.  I "found" them when I was commuting into NYC from NJ for work. I would read on the train and didn't have a book to read on the way home so I grabbed the Sourcerer's Stone and grabbed the next one 2 days later. Then had to (impatiently) wait 2 years between the next books.  I hated the wait!!! I read them all several times, especially the last3 because there were so many details I missed during the first readings.  

I have never been able to get through the LoTR trilogy.  The 2nd book, The Two Towers, bores me to tears.  I loved the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Rings but despite many tries have never been able to get through the Two Towers!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 16, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Yes!! Black tie and party dress and champagne toast! I have one party dress candle and one champagne wallflower left so I hope they bring them back this year!


Ahhh that's it! Those were really good, I was surprised not to see them in the sale (at least not at my store).


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## trekkersangel (Jun 16, 2014)

I just added a Birchbox wish list onto my wish list if my swap buddy needs it.  That was tough.  I want it ALL.  ha ha ha.

I'm loving hearing all about you ladies.  You're all so fun.


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## sstich79 (Jun 16, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I just added a Birchbox wish list onto my wish list if my swap buddy needs it.  That was tough.  I want it ALL.  ha ha ha.


I know, right? I could do a LOT of damage in the Birchbox shop. Must... resist... Sumita eyeliner... Cargo blush... pretty things... I had no idea that Birchbox's shop was so epic!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 16, 2014)

I think I have enough things on my wish list but if my swapster buddy is having trouble picking things/colors/flavors I would love to get whatever her favorites are. I'm really not picky.


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## msambrosia (Jun 16, 2014)

Trying to jump back into this thread, but I'm kind of lost after several days away!
 
Coffee/Tea: I don't drink tea very often, unless I'm sick, but I drink a lot of coffee. I have a Keurig Vue machine and also a regular drip coffee maker. I drink cappucino and iced coffees, but I don't really like flavored coffees very much. (I especially hate vanilla!) 
 
Books: I love to read. I got a Kindle for Christmas last year and have noticed I'm reading a lot more than I used to. However, sometimes I still just like the weight of a book in my hands and the smell of the pages. I tend to prefer fiction, but cookbooks are also a weakness.
 
Bath &amp; Body Works: I haven't shopped in there for a while, except for candles and hand soap. I tend to lean towards "clean" scents, though...things like linen and cotton.


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## meaganola (Jun 16, 2014)

Ugh, if I'm on the forum today and/or tomorrow before 5pm Pacific time, someone please yell at me. It's going to be a really nasty week at work, and I have no business doing anything but my actual job, especially today and tomorrow.


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## OpheliaDiFranco (Jun 16, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> Fandoms:  I don't really participate in any, but my husband has turned me into a major Dr Who fan -- but mostly of the "classic" series.  We own every Dr. Who episode ever made, even some that are only available in audio ... except for the more recent Matt Smith stuff.  We're looking forward to Peter Capaldi, though.  I'm also a big fan of Louise Penny's Gamache series, and have to see if I can find the CBC version of Still Life.
> 
> Style:  Are "simple" and "comfortable" a style?  My typical work outfit is black pants, a print blouse and a black sweater or jacket.  I wear pant suits when more formal business attire is needed.  On the weekend, it's jeans or capris and a t-shirt most of the time, with a fleece in the winter.  I'm another plus size lady, and grew up in the days when there was no such thing as "stylish" clothing in larger sizes, so I just think it's not something I think about.
> 
> ...


OMG I LOVE this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had such a good time when I met Jess and Babs  Actually @@Babs28 and I were supposed to get together this weekend, but I am stuck in williamsport till tomorrow     Hoping we can reschedule for the weekend :drive:


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## Kelli (Jun 16, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> I know, right? I could do a LOT of damage in the Birchbox shop. Must... resist... Sumita eyeliner... Cargo blush... pretty things... I had no idea that Birchbox's shop was so epic!


Those Sumita eyeliners were calling my name, too! Fortunately, I did not see the Cargo blush lol

As a kid, I loved reading and libraries so much I spent my summers (ages 11-15) volunteering at the library. They had a "Library Hero" program for kids in that age group to volunteer 2-4 hours a week during summer break. It was great. We helped with the summer reading program, shelved &amp; repaired books and whatever misc stuff they could come up with. It was some of my favorite times! My best friend Matt and his little sister also did it. Here it is 16-20 years later and I help Matt with his online book selling! He has a couple thousand books to sell online, plus a personal collection of around 3,000. I guess a good book friend, is a lifelong friend lol. He and I have driven twice, the three hours to Detroit solely to visit a bookstore!

As a YA reader, I loved the Babysitters Club books (especially the Babysitters Club Mysteries Series) and the Nancy Drew &amp; Hardy Boys Super Mysteries (I guess I was a mystery fan from a young age). I also loved the American Girl books in 5-8th grade...though does anyone else think those lean a lot younger now? I was reading them in the early to mid 90's. My aunt started reading them to my cousin at four, and she was hooked, at six she got to go to CHI to get her first doll from the store. Are they the norm or an exception?


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## ashleylind (Jun 16, 2014)

I added my BB wishlist as well. I'm a huge bookworm as well. I'm going to add my Goodreads profile as well, since I've read quite a bit.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jesemiaud (Jun 16, 2014)

sarap said:


> Anyone here like Bath and Body Works? Fave product or scent???


I love their hand soaps, car fresheners (the little round cartridges), shower gels...actually I'm not sure that there is a product that I don't like. As for scents, I love anything that is fresh, or citrus. Do not like baking scents lie vanilla or cinnamon. 
I have zero experience with Victoria secret scents or products.


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

Trying to catch up,

Song:Can I just have Spotify or how about the Sirius channel Octane? I love music but am also fairly ambivalent towards it. After dropping off the kids at daycare I will often forget to turn the radio on :/

Makeup item: sunscreen

Food: hmm, not sure. I love fruit!

Household product: toilet paper

Game/Hobby: my Kindle Fire HD

Scent: I love fresh scents, nothing too musky or too fruity-sweet (not to be confused with fruity-tangy which I love). My go to scent right now is Chanel Chance eau Tendre, described as "An unexpected mingling of grapefruit and quince meets the crispness of fresh green notes, while a trace of Jasmine Absolute lingers in the air. Gently warmed by a sheer veil of White Musk, at once, innocent and seductive."


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

Snacks as extras? It depends, I'm pretty picky about sweets and often go long periods without touching any sweet. Also, the heat where I live is ridiculous so anything melty is a bad idea. I do love tangy candy, though! Or salty snacks  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

Family dynamic: me and my husband (married 10 years this July), my son who will be 4 at the beginning of August and my daughter who will be 1 mid-August


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Sweet baby Jesus in the manger....BACH! And MENDELSSOHN OR WHATEVER HIS NAME IS! I need these immediately. Immediately.
> 
> Edit: and that green. Oh dear. I paid a significant part of my credit card bill today so I'm trryyyinnngg to be good and shop only for my buddy but they're so pretty!!


oh my! I love those colors, too!!!


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

Okay, two questions:

*Most coveted beauty item right now:* for me it's the Lorac 2 ProPalette, I NEED the four matte colors on the left in my life!!!

*Eyeshadow: loose or pressed? *pressed right now but I haven't experimented with loose too much so it would be interesting to try. Anyone have any pros to loose powder? Is it something that I don't love just because I haven't tried it?


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Fandoms:  I'm just going to copy my Midsummer response here!  Welcome to Night Vale, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad (it's not over in my heart!), Supernatural, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, Game of Thrones, True Blood (well, okay, mainly the first two or three seasons before the show runners LOST THEIR COLLECTIVE MIND), Teen Wolf (I watch on Netflix, so I'm a season behind!), The Blacklist, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, Grimm, comic book movies and horror movies in general.  I love everything Alice in Wonderland except the Burton film (my earliest memory is of reading the book) and _Once Upon a Time in Wonderland_ (it just didn't grab me).  I plan on diving into Star Trek TOS (I've only ever seen *one* episode!) and finally finishing Firefly (so sad!  Once I'm done with it, that's it!) this summer.  The first fandom I actively participated in was Buffy!  I miss that show.  Hogwarts house:  Ravenclaw.  I would self-select, and Pottermore agrees with me.


Kinda creepy but I think I love you, I'm kidding but I'm seriously so behind your Fandom list!

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (own all 7 seasons), Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis (love Atlantis more, own all 5 seasons and have seriously debated purchasing it in blu-ray as well now that we have a player), Game of Thrones, True Blood, Marvel Universe (love, love, love the Ironman movies and Avengers), Grimm, Once Upon a Time (not the wonderland one), Harry Potter, Wheel of Time series, Star Wars, Star Trek, I'm probably missing some but that's the ones that come to mind right now.

Style: I love vintage/retro/hippie-esque clothes/jewelry but don't think they look right on me so I rarely wear them. I tend towards a more classic style veering towards preppy which is totally out of sync with my interested but whatever, it looks best on me.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 16, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> Okay, two questions:
> 
> *Most coveted beauty item right now:* for me it's the Lorac 2 ProPalette, I NEED the four matte colors on the left in my life!!!
> 
> *Eyeshadow: loose or pressed? *pressed right now but I haven't experimented with loose too much so it would be interesting to try. Anyone have any pros to loose powder? Is it something that I don't love just because I haven't tried it?


Most Coveted item...I guess I'd have to say Dance Legend polishes.

Pressed or Loose...no opinion. I'm fine with either.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 16, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> Okay, two questions:
> 
> *Most coveted beauty item right now:* for me it's the Lorac 2 ProPalette, I NEED the four matte colors on the left in my life!!!
> 
> *Eyeshadow: loose or pressed? *pressed right now but I haven't experimented with loose too much so it would be interesting to try. Anyone have any pros to loose powder? Is it something that I don't love just because I haven't tried it?


Most coveted beauty item right now:  I've been wanting to get the Naked 2 palette since Christmas, but haven't brought myself to lay down that much money.  I'm too busy spending on my swap buddy instead.  ha ha ha.  But I covet any fun lipstick colors &amp; colored eyeliners too.  I need them all. . . . . ALL THE PRETTY THINGS.

Eyeshadow: loose or pressed?  I do both.  I use the pressed more, just because it's more convenient, but I love the pigmentation of loose powder.  Someday I hope to get my hands on GDE pigments because I hear they are magical.  I'm up for anything though.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 16, 2014)

Oh, &amp; is it bad that I'm finding myself stalking everybody's newly added birchbox lists now?  ha ha ha.  Through everybody else's I'm finding some wants for myself too.  ha ha ha.

Thanks a lot ladies. . . now I have a huge list of things I need in my life!!!


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Also, don't ask for a caramel macchiato upside down and get annoyed when I put the caramel on the bottom. That is upside down. Oh did you want a vanilla latte with caramel on top?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


oh, I love the caramel on the bottom and always ask for extra. I did have to learn that I had to ask for extra caramel drizzle b/c asking for extra caramel they add extra syrup *shudder*.


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

I have another question I'm curious about: Coffee, Tea, or something else. How do you drink it and any favorite flavors? I'm more of a soda girl (coke!) but I drink both tea and coffee. I like my tea iced and unsweet, which is positively unheard of down here in the deep south, and my coffee heavily treated (cream/sugar/flavor). I love Gevalia's cappucino and mocha latte' keurig mixes.

Brands I'd love to try? Indie makeup (eyeshadows, etc) and body stuff (Fortune Cookie soap, Lush)

I'm more of a savory snacker than a sweet snacker. With my last pregnancy I showed signs of pre-e at 32 weeks and had to go on a low salt diet until I delivered (8 weeks later). It was absolutely horrible! I can do without carbs, sweets, stuff like that but do not take my salt away!

Makeup remover: Using Almay right now but not in love with it.

Books: I'm a sci-fi/fantasy kinda girl, I've ready most of the mainstream books, though. I've even read lots of the YA fantasy books (David Eddings, Mercedes, Lackey, Rick Riordan, etc.)

B&amp;BW: I don't shop there much but I do like the Carried Away scent


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## button6004 (Jun 16, 2014)

Most coveted item? Hmm.. probably all of the pretty palettes.  theres a few too faced ones and a bobbi brown one I am lusting after.

Pressed or loose? Probably pressed, only because I usually have 15 minutes for my makeup in the morning, so pressed is easier in a hurry!


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## button6004 (Jun 16, 2014)

I'm totally going and making a BB wishlist now! SO fun!


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## button6004 (Jun 16, 2014)

OH I just remembered a coveted item.  A eye shadow primer that ACTUALLY WORKS.  By the middle of the day, my lids are shiny and my shadow is melted off.  I've tried UD and it doesnt do a thing  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 16, 2014)

*Most coveted beauty item right now:* Paul and Joe Color Powder in Azalea

*Eyeshadow: loose or pressed? *I do not like eyeshadows at all, so feel free to keep them all.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Lolo22 (Jun 16, 2014)

Most coveted? I'm really into things with gold shimmers in them right now.  Blushes, eye shadows, nail polish, highlighters.  Anything to look dewy and glowing  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Pressed or loose? I like both. I prefer pressed shadows in pallets/duos/quads only because it saves space but I still have some room in my z palette for a few more singles.  I really love loose shadows that are sparkly.


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

Does anyone know how often Hello Waffle Cosmetics runs sales? I've got some stuff in my cart but would love to wait for a sale  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> or even just free shipping!


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## Kelli (Jun 16, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> Okay, two questions:
> 
> *Most coveted beauty item right now:* for me it's the Lorac 2 ProPalette, I NEED the four matte colors on the left in my life!!!
> 
> *Eyeshadow: loose or pressed? *pressed right now but I haven't experimented with loose too much so it would be interesting to try. Anyone have any pros to loose powder? Is it something that I don't love just because I haven't tried it?


I think my coveted items are UD's Electric Palette and Naked 3.

I like both loose and pressed. I have been using my loose much more frequently. I have a lot of baggies and it's just really convenient for me to just grab a couple baggies and be done. The reasons I prefer loose: 1. so much more variety of colors and finishes. It seems like in store you see a lot of the same colors, but indies I can get crazy duochromes and stuff. 2. The GLITTER!!! Loose just sparkles so much better than any pressed I've bought (maybe I'm just buying the wrong pressed?)


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 16, 2014)

button6004 said:


> OH I just remembered a coveted item.  A eye shadow primer that ACTUALLY WORKS.  By the middle of the day, my lids are shiny and my shadow is melted off.  I've tried UD and it doesnt do a thing  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Nars.  I'm telling you.  Nars is where it's at with eye shadow base.  It is one of the only ones I've found that does not crease.  My eyemakeup last through my crossfit workouts it's that good.


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## Dashery (Jun 16, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Nars.  I'm telling you.  Nars is where it's at with eye shadow base.  It is one of the only ones I've found that does not crease.  My eyemakeup last through my crossfit workouts it's that good.


I second the NARS. I use NYX HD primer personally (simply can't beat the price). But NARS is probably the most effective. Robyn compared eye primers here. It's a pretty cool post to check out if you're looking for an idea of what primers to give a chance.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 16, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I think my coveted items are UD's Electric Palette and Naked 3.


Mine too! We're Kelly/Kelli twins! I have Naked 1 and 2, and Naked 3 is right up my alley but for some reason I just haven't bought it. 

And eyeshadow loose or pressed?: I pretty much only own pressed, but I would be up to receive loose. There are so many Indie loose powders I want to try, so I am totally up for that!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 16, 2014)

Dashery said:


> I second the NARS. I use NYX HD primer personally (simply can't beat the price). But NARS is probably the most effective. Robyn compared eye primers here. It's a pretty cool post to check out if you're looking for an idea of what primers to give a chance.


Crazy! I just finished a sample tube of the Nars and HATED it.  It made my eyelids a white-ish color, took forever to dry and I had slight creasing.  I love UD Primer Potion but definitely don't think it performs anything like Stay Don't Stray (which I thought was complete garbage).  I guess everyone's eyelids are different  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  UD works so well for me and lasts a while, so I don't mind spending the money on it.


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## button6004 (Jun 16, 2014)

I definitely want to pick up Naked 3 at some point.  The Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette is on my list too.


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## DonnaD (Jun 16, 2014)

I don't have a specific brand for most coveted.  My most coveted is always the same...a really good facial moisturizer for very dry skin.  I have yet to find "the one" so I just keep looking.


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## rachelshine (Jun 16, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> Does anyone know how often Hello Waffle Cosmetics runs sales? I've got some stuff in my cart but would love to wait for a sale  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> or even just free shipping!


You know, she had 2 recently so I'd say she's most likely not going to have one until at least next month at the earliest. She is SUPER nice however and you could always shoot her a private message / email asking  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> She's in Canada so she actually ends up eating a lot of the shipping costs on her end just as an FYI. 

*Pressed v loose*: Well I have fallen hardcore into the rabbit hole of indies so I am team loose right now, mostly because that is how indies roll. BUT I have also tried to start pressing some of babies, as it does save time. You just have to be careful with pressing, some colors DO NOT want to be pressed (I am looking at you pretty blues and greens and mattes). 

*Coveted Items:* I've mostly been a terrible person and bought lots of things that I've coveted, but I still want the Naked Basics, fancy YSL lippies, dat new Lorac Pro is just gaaawgeous too. I am really on a brush kick right as well. I super need an eyebrow brush like no ones business, one of those spoolie ones! 

*Fandoms*: Realized I skipped over this! I love Doctor Who! 9 was my first and he holds my heart. I love 10 too &lt;3 Tardis Blue is amazing, though I don't think I could pull it off as an eyeshadow, I covet it in all other forms of makeup (ummm blue lipstick anyone??). Also a massive Buffy fan. TEAM ANGEL FOREVER. Also, while I loved Tara, I'm a Oz/Willow stan.


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## dotybird (Jun 16, 2014)

Coffee/tea:  I drink espresso in the morning and tea throughout the day.  I also like iced coffee in the summer.  For tea, I like mostly herbal: chamomile, ginger, lemon, mint, etc... but nothing too fruity.

Coveted items: 1) Stila "In the Light" or "In the Moment" eye palette 2) Dior Vernis Nail Laquer in "Bouquet" 3) Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in some kind of bright pink/peach/coral color and 4) the YSL Rouge Pur Lip Color in 52 (which I think is sold out everywhere but I would love to find something similar.)

Eyeshadow:  Definitely pressed.  I travel too much to use loose shadows.

**************

I have another question:  What is your jewelry style? 

I wear the same pieces every day-- all small and and all gold but I do like to change up my necklaces ands bracelets depending on mood/outfit.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 16, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I don't have a specific brand for most coveted.  My most coveted is always the same...a really good facial moisturizer for very dry skin.  I have yet to find "the one" so I just keep looking.


i would have to say this as well. i usually use clinique's moisture surge intense (the pink one) in the summer. but, i've found that the Dream Bounce Cheese Cream from Memebox has been the best for my dry skin so far. Other's I've tried and liked: FAB ultra repair cream. When I'm extra super duper dry (like my skin looks flakey even), then I use FAB Ultra Repair Concentrate. The concentrate totally greases up my face but then my skin drinks it all up and by morning I'm not as dry.


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## wadedl (Jun 16, 2014)

My kids read a lot. My 10 year old has been reading the Wizard of Oz books. My 11 year old checked out the Odyssey at the library but only read part of it before returning it. He has been into mythology, probably because of the Percy Jackson books. He read all the Harry Potters except the first one, he said it was boring. The school psychologist was really impressed with how much he knew in some of the testing, she had never gotten that far in the test. He has a high school reading level and was only allowed to read nonfiction in his level the second half of the school year. My kids have a terrible writing which is why the were tested.

I don't read a lot because I will finish books in one or two days, I will take them everywhere once I get hooked.

For Christmas one year bath and body works had a tiramisu body cream in a tub, it smelled amazing. I really like Capris Blue candles volcano in particular. I love going to anthroplogie, they always have the candles in different types of jars.

The only thing I but at BBW anymore is the foaming hand soaps.


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## Christa W (Jun 16, 2014)

Most coveted item??? Moyou London Time Traveller plates in 90's, Mentality glazing polishes, OPI What's with the Cattitude.... Make up wise I'm still a noob so I have none.


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## button6004 (Jun 16, 2014)

dotybird said:


> Coffee/tea:  I drink espresso in the morning and tea throughout the day.  I also like iced coffee in the summer.  For tea, I like mostly herbal: chamomile, ginger, lemon, mint, etc... but nothing too fruity.
> 
> Coveted items: 1) Stila "In the Light" or "In the Moment" eye palette 2) Dior Vernis Nail Laquer in "Bouquet" 3) Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in some kind of bright pink/peach/coral color and 4) the YSL Rouge Pur Lip Color in 52 (which I think is sold out everywhere but I would love to find something similar.)
> 
> ...


I have the Tarte blush in I think flush, and I totally love it.  Its really long lasting and has a nice pigment to it.


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## DonnaD (Jun 16, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> i would have to say this as well. i usually use clinique's moisture surge intense (the pink one) in the summer. but, i've found that the Dream Bounce Cheese Cream from Memebox has been the best for my dry skin so far. Other's I've tried and liked: FAB ultra repair cream. When I'm extra super duper dry (like my skin looks flakey even), then I use FAB Ultra Repair Concentrate. The concentrate totally greases up my face but then my skin drinks it all up and by morning I'm not as dry.


I want to try the Clinique but haven't gotten around to buying it yet.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 16, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I want to try the Clinique but haven't gotten around to buying it yet.


oh! its nice. a mini usually comes in GWPs too so hopefully someone has one on a trade list. they also have a travel sized one available if you're not ready to commit. lol its been on my wishlist since my grandma introduced me to clinique way back when -- the pink one just always felt out of my price range. i got the jumbo sized one last year during the Nordstrom sale and the tub is still going strong.


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## chelsealady (Jun 16, 2014)

BBW-White citrus is my favorite lotion scents. Any of the coconut based ones too. I love the little car fresheners in Apple and cinnamon. We put those in my cats room. Together they smell like pineapple. I don't know why.

Coffee-black and often. If I buy coffee out I will get something with caramel in it.

Book- Please send me your favorite. I love to read and will read anything once.


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## wadedl (Jun 16, 2014)

The Too Faced shadow primer worked great for me but then the tube popped all over my makeup bag on a road trip and I purchased and Urban Decay one but it does not work as well and ended up throwing the tube out eventually. I use a MAC paint pot in Painterly and apply it with either my finger or my Beauty Blender (if I use foundation) to get a nice sheer layer. I have a sample of the Nars that I have been meaning to try. 

I think I liked the Too Faced better than the paint pot slightly but that tube exploding really pissed me off!


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## Christa W (Jun 16, 2014)

I swear by the UD shadow primer. Besides my foundation its the only higher priced item I own because without it my eye makeup won't last 15 min especially in the Florida heat. I use it and it lasts until I take it off. Now if I could only find something that works on my lips...


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## chelsealady (Jun 16, 2014)

I swear I'm going to have a heart attack before this US world cup game is over. I tried to do a little shopping for my person to distract myself but I can't find what I want. I actually haven't bought the first thing. I can't really decide on what direction I want to go.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 16, 2014)

Kelli said:


> Those Sumita eyeliners were calling my name, too! Fortunately, I did not see the Cargo blush lol
> 
> As a kid, I loved reading and libraries so much I spent my summers (ages 11-15) volunteering at the library. They had a "Library Hero" program for kids in that age group to volunteer 2-4 hours a week during summer break. It was great. We helped with the summer reading program, shelved &amp; repaired books and whatever misc stuff they could come up with. It was some of my favorite times! My best friend Matt and his little sister also did it. Here it is 16-20 years later and I help Matt with his online book selling! He has a couple thousand books to sell online, plus a personal collection of around 3,000. I guess a good book friend, is a lifelong friend lol. He and I have driven twice, the three hours to Detroit solely to visit a bookstore!
> 
> As a YA reader, I loved the Babysitters Club books (especially the Babysitters Club Mysteries Series) and the Nancy Drew &amp; Hardy Boys Super Mysteries (I guess I was a mystery fan from a young age). I also loved the American Girl books in 5-8th grade...though does anyone else think those lean a lot younger now? I was reading them in the early to mid 90's. My aunt started reading them to my cousin at four, and she was hooked, at six she got to go to CHI to get her first doll from the store. Are they the norm or an exception?


I LOVED The Babysitters Club books when I was in elementary school!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 16, 2014)

Catching up on the most recent questions:

My most coveted item at the moment is one of the Naked palettes. I have Naked Basic and am really impressed with the quality and staying power.

I use pressed eyeshadow during the week and loose on the weekend.

I love BBW lotion and shower gel. They had a Hawaii collection not too long ago that I liked. I like tropical smells because it makes me think of being on vacation  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. I'm not as into VS scents. I went through a period of time where I had a TON of their products and got a little burnt out.

I don't have a Birchbox wish list but can create one if it helps my buddy. I do love allow the Beauty Protector products I've tried and would love o try the Beauty Protector oil.

I love reading everyone's questions and answers!


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## BSquared (Jun 16, 2014)

Currently on my needs listt: lorac pro 2 and OCC lip tar in lovecraft

What's everyone's favorite holiday? I'm just curious!


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## DonnaD (Jun 16, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Currently on my needs listt: lorac pro 2 and OCC lip tar in lovecraft
> 
> What's everyone's favorite holiday? I'm just curious!


I am the designated cook for every stinkin' holiday because I have a big kitchen and I'm a good cook.  While I don't really mind it, I'd say my fav holiday is Halloween.  No cooking, no company.  I spend way too much money on Halloween stuff for trick or treaters.  I love to give them things that aren't candy oriented...although I do throw in some candy too.  I really love seeing the little kids all dressed up.


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## Dashery (Jun 16, 2014)

Favorite holiday: Halloween!

As you might have guessed, I have a penchant for dressing up.


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## heath67013 (Jun 16, 2014)

dotybird said:


> Coffee/tea:  I drink espresso in the morning and tea throughout the day.  I also like iced coffee in the summer.  For tea, I like mostly herbal: chamomile, ginger, lemon, mint, etc... but nothing too fruity.
> 
> Coveted items: 1) Stila "In the Light" or "In the Moment" eye palette 2) Dior Vernis Nail Laquer in "Bouquet" 3) Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in some kind of bright pink/peach/coral color and 4) the YSL Rouge Pur Lip Color in 52 (which I think is sold out everywhere but I would love to find something similar.)
> 
> ...


Coffee/Tea: Both, but I tend to drink more tea in the summer. I love ice tea in the summer...especially fruity.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Coveted Items: Hmm. Any of the Naked palettes or the matte Stila palette. I've never tried Tarte before and I would love to.

Eyeshadow: Both loose and pressed.

Jewelry Style: Mostly necklaces and earrings. I would like to add a few more statement necklaces to my collection.


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## meaganola (Jun 16, 2014)

Halloween!  I don't dress up, and no one comes to my door (I don't live in a good neighborhood, and our triplex is set back from the street, so it's a little scary-in-a-bad-way), but that's when all of the black cat, bat, and skull stuff hits the stores!  I love and collect that stuff.  Not so much bats, but black cats and skulls?  Absolutely.  Also:  That's when a lot of good horror movies come out or get put on Netflix Instant.  It's just my favorite time of year, period:  It's all rainy and cozy, and all you want to do is curl up inside with pets, cocoa, and reading material, but Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's insanity hasn't started yet.  I have certain bands I only listen to in October because they have nicely spooky sounds, so I look forward to that as well!

Oh, and eyeshadow:  Loose.  I used a pressed shadow today in my crease and realized I couldn't remember the last previous time I used a pressed shadow.  I have quite a few palettes, but they just don't seem to thrill me the way loose indie pigments do (I have a couple of non-indie pigments, but those tend to just sit there like the palettes).


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## Christa W (Jun 16, 2014)

Halloween!  For costumes, pumpkin seeds, and candy... PLUS fantastic indie polish Halloween polishes... and just about every other reason you guys already listed!!!


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## Christa W (Jun 16, 2014)

Is it acceptable to ship my Summerswap buddy a kitty?  I need to find a good home for one I have and I thought maybe my giftee might enjoy him.... LOL I want to keep him but my boyfriend says we have too many cats already... I am like "hey when you have 8, is 9 really that big of a stretch???)


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## CurlyTails (Jun 16, 2014)

I also love Halloween!


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## meaganola (Jun 16, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Is it acceptable to ship my Summerswap buddy a kitty?  I need to find a good home for one I have and I thought maybe my giftee might enjoy him.... LOL I want to keep him but my boyfriend says we have too many cats already... I am like "hey when you have 8, is 9 really that big of a stretch???)


I have a horrific time going to the humane society (I buy my monster kibble there) because I *have* to walk through the kitty area, and there is always an older kitty that I desperately want to take home, but that WOULD NOT end well with these two.  The ones that particularly break my heart are the ones with surrender reasons like "owner passed away" or "owner moved into assisted care facility." (The ones that make me mad are the ones that say "moving.")


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## cg0112358 (Jun 16, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> You know, she had 2 recently so I'd say she's most likely not going to have one until at least next month at the earliest. She is SUPER nice however and you could always shoot her a private message / email asking  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> She's in Canada so she actually ends up eating a lot of the shipping costs on her end just as an FYI.


Well, just pulled the trigger and bought the pick 10 sampler set. I got a few for me and a few for my swap partner  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dancersmum (Jun 16, 2014)

eyeshadow - I only wear it maybe 2x a year lol and I'm clumsy so I guess pressed...I have a few palettes that I love - my current fav is the matte Tarte palette - but ummm I use it as eyeliner more than anything

Fav holiday - Christmas - I can decorate the house in snowflakes &amp; its an excuse to spend lots of time in the kitchen!  Plus I love spoiling the kids in the family and all the extended family!


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## valeried44 (Jun 16, 2014)

I've used both pressed and loose powders, I guess I prefer the pressed for convenience, but I haven't tried any indie shadows.  They look so beautiful.  

I love Christmas for the music, the lights, family gatherings, and the holiday spirit.  It's such a beautiful time in the gloomy winter months.  I also like the 4th of July for the fireworks - our family makes bags of popcorn for everyone and puts together a fireworks show for the campground.  Not big, professional fireworks, but it's fun and gets plenty of oooohs and ahhhhs.  

I don't wear a lot of jewelry, but I would describe my jewelry style as simple.  I'm really not into the super bold statement pieces.  I'm just not a super bold kinda person.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jun 16, 2014)

I like Halloween. Also, I have fun getting stuff for my nieces and nephew for Valentine's and Easter, those holidays have a lot more appeal for me now that I have the four of them to get cute stuff for.

Jewelry: I typically go for silver over gold, but I like gold colored stuff, too. I like bold pieces!


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## jesemiaud (Jun 16, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Currently on my needs listt: lorac pro 2 and OCC lip tar in lovecraft
> 
> What's everyone's favorite holiday? I'm just curious!


Definitely Christmas! I love to decorate, I love to give the perfect gift and the family is altogether!

Jewelry style: Bold and Chunky! I love colorful jewelry and silver as well. I do like a little gold, but not much. I wear lots of bracelets, earrings and necklaces. I don't wear too many rings other than my wedding ring.


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## BSquared (Jun 16, 2014)

Oh and eyeshadow: usually pressed but I want to get some loose ones! They seem exciting.

And to answer my own question, I love Christmas (but I like Christmas Eve better than Christmas Day) and I love halloween too!


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## lastnite629 (Jun 16, 2014)

*Most coveted beauty item right now:* Nars blush in Orgasm &amp; all the UD Revolution lipsticks.  Want. NEED!!

*Eyeshadow: loose or pressed? *I have both,but use pressed most of the time.  Still haven't gotten the hand of loose shadows. 
Jewelry style - I don't wear jewelry very often. I don't even wear my wedding band.  It's funny because in high school &amp; college, I wore all sorts of funky earrings &amp; had my eyebrow pierced.   I have been buying some fun pieces lately.  Now to just force myself to wear them. 

Favorite Holiday - Halloween, hands down.  Hubby &amp; I decorate the house &amp; yards with lights, tombstones, etc.    We love going on ghost walks/tours, fall festivals, hay rides, and haunted houses/corn mazes. I tried to get hubby to dress up as Wreck It Ralph last year, but he wouldn't go for it. boo.


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## Christa W (Jun 16, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I have a horrific time going to the humane society (I buy my monster kibble there) because I *have* to walk through the kitty area, and there is always an older kitty that I desperately want to take home, but that WOULD NOT end well with these two.  The ones that particularly break my heart are the ones with surrender reasons like "owner passed away" or "owner moved into assisted care facility." (The ones that make me mad are the ones that say "moving.")


I tried to take one home like that from a rescue and the lady wouldn't let me because at the time I had them indoor and outdoor and she said it might get taken by a hawk.  The cat was like 24 lbs and it's own owner died of old age... I wanted to just let it live out it's days happy...


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## Babs28 (Jun 16, 2014)

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love to get dressed up! Also, it's pretty much the only time of the year you can go see the Rocky Horror Picture Show!!

I don't have a preference between loose or pressed eye shadow.  I enjoy both! 

And I'm a coffee girl all the way.  I pretty much live on it.  I'm not human till I've had my first cup!


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## DonnaD (Jun 16, 2014)

I missed the jewelry question...I wear a diamond solitaire necklace in white gold and a diamond solitaire ring on my right hand as well as my wedding rings.  The solitaires used to be 1-1/2 carat earrings in 24 carat yellow gold that my husband gave me our first Valentine's day.  I wore them for 10 years only taking them out for cleaning.  About 8 years ago and totally out of the blue, I ended up with raging infections in both earlobes at the same time.  My doctor said I had suddenly developed and allergy to nickel...even 24 carat gold has nickel in it...who knew?  So now I can't wear earrings at all.  I've tried and within hours they start to become inflamed.

I do like funky watches and bracelets but no other jewelry.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 16, 2014)

I like wearing fun necklaces. The rest of my jewelry is very simple.


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## cobainrls (Jun 16, 2014)

More questions that I need to answer:

1. Fandoms: none really. I liked reading the twilight books and the Sookie Stackhouse books but, that is about it. I do love me so Lost girl on tv though. Oh I love Grey's Anatomy!

2.coveted item: UD electric palette. I REALLY need this in my life.

3. Pressed or Loose? Pressed please..I always get loose everywhere and waste most of it. Please I have a cat who like to watch me put make-up on and she likes to knock things off the sink.

4.BBW and VS scents? I don't really shop at either place or scents.

5.Fav, Holiday? St. Patrick's Day! I use it as an excuse to get piss drink and not feel bad. With that being said..that is about the only day I get drunk. My friends already know on this day I am getting drunk and I need a DD.

6.Jewelry: To work: my wedding/engagement ring.  Out: Wedding set, Pandora bracelet with charms, another ring on my right hand, my midi ring, a watch, and some cute studs. Dressy: Wedding ring set, a pearl necklace or cute necklace(long usually), watch, maybe a bracelet, a ring on my right hand, and some diamond or pearl studs.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 16, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Is it acceptable to ship my Summerswap buddy a kitty?  I need to find a good home for one I have and I thought maybe my giftee might enjoy him.... LOL I want to keep him but my boyfriend says we have too many cats already... I am like "hey when you have 8, is 9 really that big of a stretch???)


If you are my FGM send me the kitty!!! :lol:

Jewelry:  I wear jewelry every day.  I love big ball earrings, been wearing pink pearl ones for a while now.  I also love big chunky statement necklaces and the chain link stuff that's pretty much everywhere now.  I also have a lot necklaces with charms of birds, stars, bows, etc.  those are fun too.  I need to find more rings.  I either like them really dainty or really gaudy lol. 

Holiday:  I love Christmas! I just love everything about it.  Baking, decorating, the lights, being with my family, buying people gifts, making snowmen, eating and eating and eating :wub: I love how people get nicer (only for a month) and smile at strangers more.  I love having a 3 month long excuse to be late to work.  I love wearing boots and scarves everyday.  Oh man I could go on and on....I also love my birthday.  I try to stretch it into at least week.  But now that I'm getting older I don't think I will like birthday's as much anymore :blush: .


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## Dashery (Jun 16, 2014)

I'm less of a jewelry person and more of a hair accessory person. I've worn the same necklace, ring, and earrings everyday for years. And I just can't seemed to be bothered with bracelets. Every time I get one, I wear it for a few days and then just forget about it.

In general, I prefer delicate jewelry. Even in my hair accessories. I really like delicate, ornate hair pins. That kind of stuff.


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## meaganola (Jun 16, 2014)

I wear one piece of jewelry, if it can be called that:  A traditional Maori fishhook.  I haven't taken it off in…  fifteen years?  Something like that.  I don't remember exactly when I got it, but I do remember being stopped on my way out of a Soul Coughing show when they were touring for _Irresistible Bliss_ (or maybe Luscious Jackson when they were touring for _Natural Ingredients_.  Both shows were the same weekend at the same venue.  And, wow, I cannot believe I can remember that weekend) by some guy who wanted to, like, bond over it or something.  So at least since then.  ANYWAY.  My dad got some for my brother, my brother's then-girlfriend, and me from a guy he worked with from New Zealand.  The bro has worn his for even longer than I've worn mine.  The one i have was actually the now-ex's.  Mine fell off at some point because it wasn't securely tied on.  The ex threw hers at the bro on her way out the door in a nasty breakup scene, and he hung it on his rearview mirror until I happened to be visiting one day, noticed it, and commented that mine had fallen off and disappeared, at which point he took it off the rearview mirror and gave it to me.  (And Dad tied it with this slip knot sort of thing, and I used to be able to take it off and put it back on, but the knots tightened up after a few years, and it's been exactly the way it has been for years.)

Other than the fishhook, I have a ton of jewelry -- necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets -- but don't ever wear any of it.  Necklaces/bracelets/rings just annoy me, and like @@DonnaD, I very abruptly developed an allergy to metal in earrings about ten years ago.  It really makes me sad because I have not one but *two* pairs of nice diamond studs (one pair was my grandmother's, and she promised them to me when I was a baby because even then, I was *obsessed* with sparkly things.  She had planned on leaving them to me when she passed away, but then my grandfather passed away before distributing certain things to the grandkids, and she insisted on putting them personally in my hands.  The other pair were my mom's.  Those *were* something I was given after her death).

Um.  Yeah.  Sentimental like whoa over here.


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## dancersmum (Jun 16, 2014)

@@DonnaD - I developed the same allergy!  but 24K gold is way to soft to set diamonds in as in you can bend it with your fingers soft...

If you can still wear your rings your allergy can't be too bad.  Just a warning - ears are the first usually but I developed it in my hands last year too and I love to wear rings.  My solution was to have my wedding &amp; engagement ring re plated - I think they used rhodium - I can wear them again - but the plating does wear off so I have to keep that in mind and re-plate every few years.  None of my 24K gold stuff has nickel in it - but its also an interesting bright yellow colour that isn't attractive on me so most of it I keep for sentimental reasons (one was my grandfathers ring and the other pieces were gifts from my favourite grandmother).

@@meaganola - have you ever considered having those diamonds reset into a ring or pendant so that you can use them?  For sentimental reasons I have done that with a earrings I could no longer wear but I wanted to occasionally use when I really missed someone...   Oh &amp; what is your fish hook made of - we have jade NZ infinity pendants.  My daughters boyfriend broke his and was so upset he went and had it tattooed on lol


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## DonnaD (Jun 16, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@DonnaD - I developed the same allergy!  but 24K gold is way to soft to set diamonds in as in you can bend it with your fingers soft...
> 
> If you can still wear your rings your allergy can't be too bad.  Just a warning - ears are the first usually but I developed it in my hands last year too and I love to wear rings.  My solution was to have my wedding &amp; engagement ring re plated - I think they used rhodium - I can wear them again - but the plating does wear off so I have to keep that in mind and re-plate every few years.  None of my 24K gold stuff has nickel in it - but its also an interesting bright yellow colour that isn't attractive on me so most of it I keep for sentimental reasons (one was my grandfathers ring and the other pieces were gifts from my favourite grandmother).
> 
> @@meaganola - have you ever considered having those diamonds reset into a ring or pendant so that you can use them?  For sentimental reasons I have done that with a earrings I could no longer wear but I wanted to occasionally use when I really missed someone...   Oh &amp; what is your fish hook made of - we have jade NZ infinity pendants.  My daughters boyfriend broke his and was so upset he went and had it tattooed on lol


They never bent so I guess 24 ct wasn't too bad.  The only thing I can think is that it had something to do with it being yellow gold.  My other rings are white gold and I had the earrings set into a white gold ring and necklace.  They've never bothered me.  I also wear a pearl ring set in white gold my dad bought me when I was 16.  That pearl has come off of that ring no less than 10 times in my life and I've managed to find it every time.  My dad died a few years ago and I live in fear of losing it for real someday so I don't wear it as often as I used to.


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## wadedl (Jun 17, 2014)

Jewelry, I wear diamond studs from my aunt that I never take out except too clean and I have some from my grandma from when I was a baby but they are tiny. I have 3 pieces from Tiffany 2 for mothers days and one for my last birthday. I wear my Tiffany Blue enamel Return to Tiffany heart almost everyday and a small 1837 circle pendant and bangle. I also have some Zuni pieces that I got on a trip to New Mexico. Next year I want some Tiffany Earrings!

I do like Boho type jewelry and statement necklaces but I am too cheap to ever buy anything since I have nice stuff.


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## meaganola (Jun 17, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @meaganola - have you ever considered having those diamonds reset into a ring or pendant so that you can use them?  For sentimental reasons I have done that with a earrings I could no longer wear but I wanted to occasionally use when I really missed someone...   Oh &amp; what is your fish hook made of - we have jade NZ infinity pendants.  My daughters boyfriend broke his and was so upset he went and had it tattooed on lol


Nope, definitely not.  I don't wear jewelry, so it's a waste of money to reset them in something else.  Plus my mom's earrings will be going to my older nephew when he's older (she passed away when he was two, so even if he doesn't remember her, we remember her with him), and my grandmother's earrings will go to my younger nephew (she passed away when he was five, and my sister-in-law had *just* found out she was pregnant when Mom died, so he didn't know Mom at all, but he knew Mom's mom).  I've got tattoos to remind me of my mom, and one of these days, I'll get one for my grandmother (the one I want -- a hummingbird -- is probably going to be $300, and the timing hasn't worked out yet).

My fishhook is bone.  According to my dad, the guy who gave them to him carved them from whale bone.  The number of young guys who want to chat about it is surpassed only by the number who want to chat about my kanji tattoo!  (The tattoo says "favorite daughter," which was Mom's nickname for me/secret joke between the two of us.  She was one of four daughters.  I'm her only daughter.  I also have a carnation because it was her favorite flower.  Tip:  Kanji + carnation + comic book convention = lots of guys young enough to be my sons craning their necks trying to sound out the characters around my wrist + disappointment at their discovery that I don't actually speak Japanese or remotely care about anime.)

(And speaking of my mom, it's a really good thing I think she was pretty and would have aged into an incredibly elegant older woman if she had made it past 51 because the older I get, the more I look like her!  I looked more like Dad's side of the family when I was a kidlet, but things are changing as the years progress.)


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 17, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> Definitely Christmas! I love to decorate, I love to give the perfect gift and the family is altogether!


Me too! My favorite thing about Christmas is crafting (not literally, I usually buy them) the perfect gift(s)!

Jewelry - I like silver jewelry and all I wear everyday is my Tiffany bracelet and necklace from the bf. He done good on those   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jun 17, 2014)

I really like all the holidays and try to make them all special, but Halloween is my utmost favorite. We choose a theme and the whole family dresses up. I have friends and family over for dinner, then we go trick or treating to few houses and then head home to pass out candy and see the all the costumes. We have over 400 trick or treaters each year and every member of the family passes out a best costume prize.

When we see one that we love, they get the prize...full size candy bar, stuffed animal, cash in a mini pumpkin or whatever we pick out that year. Last year I chose a little girl dressed as a princess, she was in a wheel chair and was just the cutest thing in the world. I gave her a Webkinz stuffed black cat and told her she won the prize for prettiest princess, she was so stoked and squeezed the cat super tight. It made my night!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 17, 2014)

Holiday - New Year's Eve &amp; Halloween because my family has a ton of traditions for both!


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## rachelshine (Jun 17, 2014)

Halloween is always a blast because my parents used to throw epic parties. I also LOVE Passover for the great meals &amp; the excuse to drink an excessive amount of wine. 

As for jewelry, I love long necklaces (my umm..ample bosom makes it difficult for those weird in between lengths), midi-rings, and statement earrings. Rose gold has become my new favorite. I also love natural stones too. I really REALLY want to try an ear cuff, like the ones Bauble Bar has right now from the Coco Rocha collection. DYING at how ridic/amaze they are.


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## bonita22 (Jun 17, 2014)

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I just love dressing up and it's the only night I go out and get drunk. We used to hand out candy but we would only get like one or two kids in a 3 hour period so we stopped.

As for jewelry, I prefer silver although I do wear gold toned jewelry every once in a while. When I go out I usually put on a necklace and some bracelets. My December Secret Santa @@dotybird made me a beautiful bracelet, it's one of my favorites. I don't wear earrings very often but I do like wearing rings. My wedding set was stolen during my honeymoon by a hotel maid (I set them on the bathroom counter in the room when we went to the pool, they were gone when we got back and the room was cleaned). Now I wear the promise ring my husband gave me when we were dating as a wedding ring.

I love B&amp;BW stuff, especially the foaming hand cleaners. The fruity scents are my favorites especially apple.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 17, 2014)

Halloween here is kind of stressful. Our first year here we got over 300 kids and ran out of candy right away. The streets fill up so you can't drive anywhere and there's golf carts pulling trailers full of little kids lol. The kids are really little for the most part so last year my decorations made a girl cry  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. They're all done by 8 though cause they start super early. I've never seen anything like it.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 17, 2014)

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday--I was born on Thanksgiving morning, so it has a special place in my heart.

I wear jewelry every day!  I love it--it is as big of an obsession of mine as all the lovely products we talk about on MUT.  I love long statement necklaces, sparkly earrings, and the occasional bracelet.  I have everything from pieces insured for thousands to faux diamond studs from Forever 21, and I mix and match the real and the not all the time.  I do not think I have ever worn the same jewelry twice in a week!


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 17, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Halloween here is kind of stressful. Our first year here we got over 300 kids and ran out of candy right away. The streets fill up so you can't drive anywhere and there's golf carts pulling trailers full of little kids lol. The kids are really little for the most part so last year my decorations made a girl cry  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. They're all done by 8 though cause they start super early. I've never seen anything like it.


That sounds extremely stressful!  I have never had a child at my house, and that is probably ok--the dogs would go nuts if people were ringing the bell every few minutes!


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## bonita22 (Jun 17, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Halloween here is kind of stressful. Our first year here we got over 300 kids and ran out of candy right away. The streets fill up so you can't drive anywhere and there's golf carts pulling trailers full of little kids lol. The kids are really little for the most part so last year my decorations made a girl cry  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. They're all done by 8 though cause they start super early. I've never seen anything like it.


That sounds crazy! I live near a 55+ community so I'm guessing my neighborhood isn't cool enough for the kids to trick or treat.


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## Babs28 (Jun 17, 2014)

I forgot to answer the jewelry question!  I LOVE jewelry.  I have mostly gold jewelry but I have some silver pieces that I love too. I love to stack bracelets and have some "odd" ones that I wear: two serpents laced together to form a weave pattern, a "gold" dragon "swallowing" it's tail, skull and cross bones that look like lace until you look closely.  I love dainty feminine necklaces that end right at the hollow of my throat.  I like to stack those type and length necklaces.  My favorite one is believe it or not, my wedding necklace (that I picked out and bought myself). It's a 24kt and 18kt hand designed butterfly (the jeweler custom carved the wax mold) with pave diamonds in the wings and a larger center stone for the body and amazing detail.  When I say hand designed, I mean that the antennae aren't perfectly symmetrical, one is bent differently which is one of the things I love about it. It's really small.  I also have some long necklaces with colorful beads and different pendants on it. One of my faves is the spent bullet casing decorated with swarovski crystals (It came in the first social bliss box).

I love rings too. I have quite a few from Bauble Bar and pieces that my mom gave me (she's already divided up her jewelry between me and my sister).  My favorite ring is also (can you guess?) a butterfly. The ring is gold and the body of the butterfly is made of opals (her favorite stone) with exquisite detailing.  My father had it made for her when they were dating. My most sentimental ring is my parents' wedding bands. My dad was super skinny (skinnier than my mom) when they got married. They got matching gold bands with their initials and wedding date engraved inside. my dad gained weight as he got older and the ring didn't fit so my mom had them joined to make a double band and when it didn't fit her, I got it and wore it the entire time I was in the Marines and away from home.  It made me feel like they were with me somehow.  

Sadly, my old dog walker stole all of my really good pieces of jewelry (stuff I bought myself and BFs had bought me over the years) plus all the sentimental stuff my parents got me. The stuff he stole was worth a lot of money and priceless in terms of sentimental value and the guy sold it all for just $1,900 at the pawn shop for the weight of the gold. :scared:    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  The police found the place he pawned the jewelry at but we were a day late in getting it back. My dog walker was a drug addict and I had no idea. I felt like my heart was ripped out when I found out what was stolen. I was heartbroken.  Fortunately, my engagement ring and band (my mother's set with a new diamond) and the jewelry she gave me happened to be at the jeweler's for appraisal at the time (ironic,huh?) so I didn't lose those. 

@@DonnaD @@meaganola &amp; @@dancersmum - Thanks for mentioning your allergy!  I had no idea you could develop an allergy to the metal in jewelry.  My BF bought me these beautiful earrings for christmas that recently started to hurt my ears if I wore them for more than 1 work day - any longer and I would have really painful holes and scabs after wearing them. They are tricolored gold and I was wondering if he might have gotten ripped off because gold never bothers my ears. Now I am wondering if I am developing an allergy! :angry:   I rarely wear earrings.  I'll have to see what happens when I wear a different pair that I know for certain are gold and have never bothered me before.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 17, 2014)

Halloween hands down!!!  I'm actually surprised to hear Halloween from so many people.  Everybody thinks I'm insane for liking Halloween more than Christmas.  We also do a family theme every year for Halloween &amp; I make our costumes.  Since there are 8 of us, it's getting harder to find themes to fit ALL of us.  Last year we did Despicable Me 2 (see profile pic), but we've done the Incredibles, Alice in Wonderland, Mario Brothers (that one was epic), Sleeping Beauty (3 girls, 3 fairies), &amp; much more.  I think it's a blast.  I think this year we're going to do Peter Pan (Wendy, Tinkerbell, Tiger Lily, Peter Pan, John, Michael, Captain Hook for the hubs, &amp; I"ll probably be Smee).

I also spend the entire month of October making Halloween themed meals for the kids.  They LOVE it.  "When are we eating pumpkin brains?"  That's always their first question on October 1st.  We hand out full sized candy bars &amp; always have the Haunted Mansion music playing on our doorstep when trick or treaters come.  My kids hate trick or treating so we mostly just hand out candy because we all love that.

And for the jewelry question. . . one of my best friends is a gemologist &amp; she collects gemstones &amp; nice jewelry.  I've been the lucky recipient of several beautiful pieces of that jewelry.  She has started a gemstone collection for me &amp; for each of my 3 girls.  So I have several pieces of really nice nice nice jewelry.  I don't wear them as often as I should because I never feel dressed up enough to wear nice stuff like that.  Most days I dip into my fun costume stuff (Charming Charlie anyone?) &amp; wear it with jeans &amp; a t-shirt.  But I do wear my nice stuff for special occasions.  Oh, &amp; I always have my wedding ring on.


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## button6004 (Jun 17, 2014)

My favorite holiday is Christmas- I really love giving gifts to people, and its such a festive time.  I have tons of Christmas ornaments and its the only holiday I decorate for.  I just get so excited.  The music, the snow.  Man.  I love it so.

So I love to alternate fun jewelry with more classic pieces. Today I am wearing my monogram necklace and pearl earrings, but tomorrow I might wear kitty earrings and a big statement necklace.  I only have a few "real" pieces of jewelry, the rest is fun costume-y jewelry.  I really like going into Forever 21 and picking up fun necklaces and cute little stud earrings.  I wear mostly fun studs or just pearl studs.  And my wedding set. I only take it off to shower, I'm so possessive of it.  I dont even take it off for a manicure!


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## BSquared (Jun 17, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Halloween here is kind of stressful. Our first year here we got over 300 kids and ran out of candy right away. The streets fill up so you can't drive anywhere and there's golf carts pulling trailers full of little kids lol. The kids are really little for the most part so last year my decorations made a girl cry  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. They're all done by 8 though cause they start super early. I've never seen anything like it.


I wish we had that many people!! We never have anyone. We were in our last place for about 5 years and we got maybe 1-3 kids per year. We were on a busy street and in a less-nice part (not like scary or crime ridden, but not in the million dollar houses area) of a nice suburb so my theory is always the kids went to the nice part for better candy.

We moved just over a year ago and I thought we'd get more kids as we're in a townhome complex and there seems to be a decent amount of kids around.  Last Halloween we got ONE kid, and it was my neighbor's granddaugher who I think he brought over because he felt bad for us lol. I gave her an entire bag of candy. I don't even know if I'll turn the lights on this year.


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## tulosai (Jun 17, 2014)

WOW there are a LOT of Halloween fans here!



chelsealady said:


> I actually haven't bought the first thing. I can't really decide on what direction I want to go.


I haven't purchased anything for this swap either yet.  I felt like I had to get the other one out of the way because I was so focused on that person.  I am excited to be able to start on this one this weekend!

And catching up on questions:

Most coveted item: Like a lot of you guys I have a thing for the Naked palates. I don't have any of them.I also am drooling over the UD electric palate and the elf Ursula look book 

Pressed vs. Loose shadow: I will use either.  I prefer pressed but since I also love to try indies, loose is a fact of life for me.

Holiday: I love ALL THE HOLIDAYS and decorate for them do my nails for them, and celebrate them.  I also sometimes celebrate random holidays like national coffee day r national ice cream day (yes they exist).  If I HAD to pick one, maybe Christmas, but really I'd usually just say whichever one's closest.  I am currently gearing up for the Fourth of July!

Coffee/tea: Definitely usually tea but I do keep an emergency stash of coffee around.  I love all the teas but definitely do not need more at the moment- I am drowning in it.

Jewelry: I love both silver and gold jewelry.  I tend to be more into daintier jewelry. I also love hair accessories and fun hair ties, bows, clips, whatever!


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## tulosai (Jun 17, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Halloween here is kind of stressful. Our first year here we got over 300 kids and ran out of candy right away. The streets fill up so you can't drive anywhere and there's golf carts pulling trailers full of little kids lol. The kids are really little for the most part so last year my decorations made a girl cry  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. They're all done by 8 though cause they start super early. I've never seen anything like it.


I wish I had your problem.  I am lucky to get 10 trick or treaters.


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## Kelli (Jun 17, 2014)

We had always lived in rural areas and didn't get trick or treaters at all, but two years ago we moved into town...a town of 700 or 800 people, so not a huge town by no means, and we got over 300 trick-or-treaters. It was great. My nephew who lives here is two, so he was just a baby and we would take him to just a few houses near us, since it's typically so cold and then hand out candy the rest of the time. So many cute costumes.


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## cg0112358 (Jun 17, 2014)

Jewelry: I generally wear the same jewelry with minor variations every day. On casual days I wear small single silver hoop earrings, a thin chain with a small cross (silver), my watch (rose gold), and a silver charm bracelet. On dressier days I upgrade my earrings wear triple hoop earrings (love these, get so many complements on them). Sometimes I might wear a dressier necklace but usually stick with my cross.


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## DonnaD (Jun 17, 2014)

Even though this is a total give away, I'm sad that my person hasn't posted here at all.  I was holding out hope I wouldn't have another experience like my secret santa MIA person but I guess it's just my luck.

Thank God for @@puppymomofthree!


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## tulosai (Jun 17, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Even though this is a total give away, I'm sad that my person hasn't posted here at all.  I was holding out hope I wouldn't have another experience like my secret santa MIA person but I guess it's just my luck.
> 
> Thank God for @@puppymomofthree!


OH NO!!!! I certainly hope she will be around soon... we all do have our off weeks... or at least I know I do.

This also crushes my hopes of being spoiled by you   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 17, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Even though this is a total give away, I'm sad that my person hasn't posted here at all.  I was holding out hope I wouldn't have another experience like my secret santa MIA person but I guess it's just my luck.
> 
> Thank God for @@puppymomofthree!


Awwwwww!!!   :wub: Please post ladies!!!  It is far easier to spoil you if you let your swap buddy know as much about you as possible!


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## lastnite629 (Jun 17, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Halloween here is kind of stressful. Our first year here we got over 300 kids and ran out of candy right away. The streets fill up so you can't drive anywhere and there's golf carts pulling trailers full of little kids lol. The kids are really little for the most part so last year my decorations made a girl cry  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. They're all done by 8 though cause they start super early. I've never seen anything like it.


I was SO not prepared for Halloween when we moved to a military base.  We estimated we had between 400-500 kids come by our first Halloween living there.  I was overwhelmed and we ran out of candy. We were ready the 2nd year, though!   It was so much fun. While I was handing out candy, I happened to notice a person dressed as Michael Myers across the street. Just standing on the sidewalk. Staring at me.  It creeped me out. lol I was about to yell at my husband so he could see the guy, too, but Michael was gone! No idea where he went!  That happened the following 2 years, too.  Never did figure out who it was. 

ETA: Now we live on a dead end street so we don't get very many trick or treaters. We're usually the only house at our end of the street who pass out candy.  Makes me sad.


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## Kelli (Jun 17, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Even though this is a total give away, I'm sad that my person hasn't posted here at all.  I was holding out hope I wouldn't have another experience like my secret santa MIA person but I guess it's just my luck.
> 
> Thank God for @@puppymomofthree!


Aww  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I can't believe you are possibly having the same issue as last time.


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## button6004 (Jun 17, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Even though this is a total give away, I'm sad that my person hasn't posted here at all.  I was holding out hope I wouldn't have another experience like my secret santa MIA person but I guess it's just my luck.
> 
> Thank God for @@puppymomofthree!


I havent really seen my person post here much at all.  I'm struggling a bit trying to put together stuff for her!


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## lastnite629 (Jun 17, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Even though this is a total give away, I'm sad that my person hasn't posted here at all.  I was holding out hope I wouldn't have another experience like my secret santa MIA person but I guess it's just my luck.
> 
> Thank God for @@puppymomofthree!


 /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I hope she posts some soon! 

I don't have that many posts, but i've been trying to post more, especially in this thread.  I hope it helps the person who has me!


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## DonnaD (Jun 17, 2014)

Kelli said:


> Aww  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I can't believe you are possibly having the same issue as last time.


I hope she at least bothers to let me know when she gets my package.  My SS person never even responded to me until after Zadi got involved.  Yeesh.  But ya know, I had tremendous fun making gloves for various honorary secret santas.

This time I have @@puppymomofthree and I'm actually really happy to have a person whom I know and who knows me.  It won't be a "who's my person" surprise but it means I have a reliably excited person lol.


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## Christa W (Jun 17, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Even though this is a total give away, I'm sad that my person hasn't posted here at all. I was holding out hope I wouldn't have another experience like my secret santa MIA person but I guess it's just my luck.
> 
> Thank God for @@puppymomofthree!


Awe!!! I hereby humbly request that in the future organizers of swap events assign Donna someone who is active and participating!!!

On a happier note, let's hope the person who got you is active and participating.


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## BSquared (Jun 17, 2014)

awww I think everyone should post. Maybe she's on vacation or something??? I mean, why wouldn't you post, it's fun!!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Oh and jewelry: I like rings (any kind of ring really) but only wear 1 at a time outside of my wedding/engagement rings. I like necklaces, long ones, not choker or shorter type. Statement or Dainty, I like them all! I have no aversion/allergies to cheap jewelry and it's usually better because I tend to lose, like, everything. I HATTEEE stuff on my wrists though. Can't wear watches, can't wear bracelets. It just feels gross to me. I'm weird. Silver over gold, but I will wear gold in necklace form.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 17, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I hope she at least bothers to let me know when she gets my package.  My SS person never even responded to me until after Zadi got involved.  Yeesh.  But ya know, I had tremendous fun making gloves for various honorary secret santas.
> 
> This time I have @@puppymomofthree and I'm actually really happy to have a person whom I know and who knows me.  It won't be a "who's my person" surprise but it means I have a reliably excited person lol.


You mean a bouncing out of her chair every time she reads your posts person!!! (Not kidding,  I literally almost bounced out of my office chair when I saw you mentioned me...and I have not even had caffeine or sugar today!)  

All kidding aside, anyone would be lucky to have you and hopefully she posts soon and you get a good deal of information!


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 17, 2014)

I'm behind...again...and probably missing a few questions.

Style: Um comfortable casual. I try to wear dresses in the summer because they're easy and light. I wear the same accessories day to day: diamond studs in my second piercing (gift from my parents), pearls in my main piercing, watch, fitbit and my ring from the PS fall style box (I love that dang ring). I'll rock a scarf any time of year too. Bracelets I like but I use a laptop at work and they forever bang around on my keypad.

Holiday:  Unpopular opinion but 4th of July. It's a week after my b-day, it's also the essence of summer to me, bbq's, beaches, fireworks. I love summer &amp; fall.

blah I gotta go back and look at the other questions...


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## meaganola (Jun 17, 2014)

Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 17, 2014)

Pacifica sale---I am so jealous!  I love their solid perfumes!  Malibu Lemon Blossom is my favorite, I also like California Night Jasmine and Tuscan Blood Orange....but I really want to try Nerola Orange Blossom.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?


ALL OF THEM.  I especially love their coconut lotions.  But I love the orange &amp; guava. . . heck I love it all.  They make the best scents.  I love their candles, diffusers, &amp; their room sprays.  You have one lucky swap buddy!


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## Jac13 (Jun 17, 2014)

Oh goodness... Late to the party again, lol. I love statement jewelry. I prefer white gold over gold. I like anything that is unique but pretty. I love watches and earrings but they have to have a stainless steel post or non allergenic.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. We usually travel to my brothers home and everyone congregate there. We have such a good time. I look forward to it every year.

I prefer pressed powder but will welcome the chance at powder. However I prefer to buy my own foundation to get it just right.

@@DonnaD I too am having a hard time trying to think of ideas for my person. I have to really stalk her. She is relatively new.

Is anyone thinking of Secret Santa and who they would like to get.


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## Kelli (Jun 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?


Lucky you and your person!

I haven't tried any of their stuff, but generally like anything fruity/citrusy, clean or floral  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## emilylithium (Jun 17, 2014)

favorite holiday is Christmas, i guess just because i get so many days off.

favorite jewelry: hard question since I don't wear them on a regular basis. but most of my pieces are delicate silver or gold pieces. my friends laugh at me when i wear gold statement pieces, i guess it just doesnt match me at all.


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## Jac13 (Jun 17, 2014)

@@meaganola I would prefer a floral candle. I love soft smelling candles. I love the gardenia ones at Dillard's.


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## DonnaD (Jun 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?



I've only ever tried the blood orange and I like it.  I'd like to try some of the others but not coconut or vanilla scents.



Jac13 said:


> Is anyone thinking of Secret Santa and who they would like to get.


Someone who participates!!!


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## bonita22 (Jun 17, 2014)

I love Pacifica, I'm so jealous! My favorites are blood orange, island vanilla, Hawaiian ruby guava and French lilac. The only scent I know I don't like is the Tahitian Gardenia.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 17, 2014)

I feel bad for my person, I feel like I post too much! She's probably overwhelmed by all the things I'm interested in trying!

Pacifica: I love the Tahitian Gardenia, French Lilac, Lemon Blossom, and Wikaki Pikake. I would have loved to try California Star Jasmine, but when I placed my last order I set my free solid perfume sample to be that, and they failed to mention they were out of stock of that so it was substituted. If I had known I would have just bought a rollerball in that scent or something. I also think I'd like Lotus Blossom, but I haven't smelled it yet. I love their solid perfumes, I would love to try their rollerballs, but I find the body butters turn a weird artificial scent on me.


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## rachelshine (Jun 17, 2014)

@@BSquared SWATCHES ARE DONE!!! But I am running out the door!! Will be back in like 20 min to upload. OMG you will drool and then run over to Hello Waffles and order. Hell, I am might order again.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?


Ahhh! Sad (yet not sad) that my dad is visiting me during the sale otherwise I would ask him to go there for me! Although that would probably be a disaster anyway now that I think about it.  Mexican Cocoa!!! In any form.  Though, I shy away from reed difusers because I am a klutz and I call my bf Mr. Magoo lol.  I haven't smelled it but the fig scent intrigues me too.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?


Oooh, Pacifica! I love Tuscan Blood Orange for sure, I haven't really tried any other scents, except for Tahitian Gardenia and while it's ok, it's a little too strong for my taste. I'm sure I'd love anything from there!


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## BSquared (Jun 17, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @@BSquared SWATCHES ARE DONE!!! But I am running out the door!! Will be back in like 20 min to upload. OMG you will drool and then run over to Hello Waffles and order. Hell, I am might order again.


Yay!! And my stepmom sent me birthday money so I think I'll place an order!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## CurlyTails (Jun 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?


Island Vanilla is my new favorite scent ever!  I also love the coconut and the guava.  I haven't tried any candles or reed diffusers yet, but would love to give them a try.  I'm typically a Yankee Candle home frangrance person, but I'm trying to branch out.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 17, 2014)

I'll throw out another question for you ladies.  Is there any particular type of product that you love to sample?  I've discovered that I love samples of BB creams.  They don't always work, but I love trying new ones out.


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## chelsealady (Jun 17, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I'll throw out another question for you ladies. Is there any particular type of product that you love to sample? I've discovered that I love samples of BB creams. They don't always work, but I love trying new ones out.


Primers. Just give me all the primer samples. Got a birchbox full. Don't care. Want them all.


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## rachelshine (Jun 17, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Yay!! And my stepmom sent me birthday money so I think I'll place an order!!


So here they are!! Debussy on top, followed by Mendelssohn, than Bach on the bottom. They are swatched first with NYX Milk Pencil, then bare skin, and then UDPP. These are all done with my finger, ONE SWIPE. The last pic is outside so you can see the sparkle! They are all so sparkly and gorgeous and buuuttah. I am putting under a spoiler just in case they are giant 



Spoiler


















I also have Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Kai, Chopin, Sloth, Eternity, Schubert, and Rainforest if anyone wants these swached.


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 17, 2014)

Wow I'm so behind on this thread.

I love jewelry! I mostly wear necklaces &amp; earrings as an everyday thing. I don't wear bracelets much &amp; only wear one ring that my bf gave me about 5 years ago. My favorites would be statement necklaces from bauble bar or forever21.

My favorite holiday would have to be Christmas! My family is big on tradition when it comes to Christmas and it's one of the few times that we all get together. Also I have a pretty huge family were about 80 people just on my mothers side( includes uncles, aunts, cousins, &amp; their children) so it's a pretty big deal lol

The product that I like to try all types of samples of would be mascara &amp; lipsticks.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 17, 2014)

Want all the facial moisturizer samples! I thought my skin would get back to normal by summer, but it's still pretty dry. I have to use a lot to get my face completely smooth with no flakes. Currently enjoying the pur-lisse from Ipsy.


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## jayeme (Jun 17, 2014)

I like to sample everything except sunscreen, shampoo, and conditioner. So every Birchbox I get has at least one of those things  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> As for the Pacifica question, my favorite scents are French Lilac, the Jasmine one, and the Vanilla one (I forget exactly what they're called). I wish I had access to the warehouse sale! And jewelry, someone asked about jewelry - I like it, but I don't wear much of it. But if I find a piece I really like, I will wear it a lot! No rings, though. My fingers are fat and I don't like trying to find rings that fit, and I HATE adjustable rings.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 17, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I'll throw out another question for you ladies.  Is there any particular type of product that you love to sample?  I've discovered that I love samples of BB creams.  They don't always work, but I love trying new ones out.


I love perfume samples! When ever I order from Sephora, I'm irritated if there aren't three different samples that I can get. I just did an inventory and I have 93 perfume samples as of today as well as 46 full size or rollerball sized scents (I know...child's play, lol). I'll probably never run out, but I wear perfume every single day and at night before bed. I love to smell good!


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## BSquared (Jun 17, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> So here they are!! Debussy on top, followed by Mendelssohn, than Bach on the bottom. They are swatched first with NYX Milk Pencil, then bare skin, and then UDPP. These are all done with my finger, ONE SWIPE. The last pic is outside so you can see the sparkle! They are all so sparkly and gorgeous and buuuttah. I am putting under a spoiler just in case they are giant  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ahhhh! Thank you!!! So pretty!!! I am officially enabled!

Now to stalk to see if maybe my swap buddy would like something in my order too!!!


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## BSquared (Jun 17, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I'll throw out another question for you ladies. Is there any particular type of product that you love to sample? I've discovered that I love samples of BB creams. They don't always work, but I love trying new ones out.


Mascara and eye primer. And masks!!!! I feel like it's the only skin care I can tell immediately if I like it or not


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## turntrekgodhead (Jun 17, 2014)

Dumb question- where do I put a wishlist? (please like this post if you reply so I can be notified.)


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## ashleylind (Jun 17, 2014)

Eeek! I've fallen behind.

- Pressed eyeshadow. I'm too messy clumsy for anything else.

-* Favorite holiday:* Christmas. My husband finds this baffling, because I am not religious, but I am all about the traditions, baking, family togetherness, gift giving, music and decorating! I love decorating Christmas trees, and may have 5 themed ones in my house. My favorite one is my penguin tree, with only penguin ornaments. I'm slightly obsessed with penguins, so this tree was bound to happen.

- *Jewelry: *Aside from my rings, pretty much everything on own is more fashion jewelry. I wear both silver and gold equally. I love statement necklaces and stud-type earrings (with a toddler, I scared for my ears with anything else). I'm not really huge on bracelets though – they just feel weird on my wrist. My favorite necklace is a silver mended heart necklace that I received after my pacemaker surgery. I would love more heart jewelry.

- *Most coveted item:* Either the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette or the Aerin Kaleidolight Palette

- *Birchbox samples I love to get:* Ummm, aside from perfume, I love it all! Especially moisturizers, lip balms, mascara, and lotion.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?


The only Pacifica product I own is the eyeshadow duo that came in May's ipsy bag. I still haven't used mine, though.  I'm tempted by the blood orange scent they offer, but i'm always so afraid to buy scented products without sniffing first due to migraines.   Usually fruity/foodie scents don't bother me, though.

Samples - i love samples of almost everything! Just no perfumes!


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## marigoldsue (Jun 18, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> So here they are!! Debussy on top, followed by Mendelssohn, than Bach on the bottom. They are swatched first with NYX Milk Pencil, then bare skin, and then UDPP. These are all done with my finger, ONE SWIPE. The last pic is outside so you can see the sparkle! They are all so sparkly and gorgeous and buuuttah. I am putting under a spoiler just in case they are giant  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh, these are GORGEOUS!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 18, 2014)

HI SUMMERSWAPPERS!

Don't forget that your swap buddy is creeping on you, yes you! Stalking is essential to figuring out wants, likes, dislikes in addition to info you disclose in a wishlist/profile thread

My word of advice: don't discuss something in this thread as a want and then buy it for yourself just yet. You might have a stealthy buddy who goes out and buys it right away! While some of us might not want dupes, it could be a bit heartbreaking for your swap buddy to hear that you just bought something that they bought for you. Yanno what I mean?

I've definitely been guilty of buying items off my wishlist and once I went back and creeped on my Secret Santas posts about me (yup. I know.), I realized that my posts in non secret Santa threads about my recent purchases caused her some stress. Let's keep this stress free and make sure everyone has a great time!!

Don't forget that you can always use a roadie to get info or maybe judge an otherwise shy partner into posting more or disclosing more info.

Thanks swappers!


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## wadedl (Jun 18, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Eeek! I've fallen behind.
> 
> - Pressed eyeshadow. I'm too messy clumsy for anything else.
> 
> ...


The Aerin Palette is gorgeous! Now I am obsessed!  :wub:


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## SaraP (Jun 18, 2014)

MUST. STOP. SHOPPING!!!!


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## marigoldsue (Jun 18, 2014)

Apologies to my buddy.  Shortly after we signed up for the summer swap, my life got crazy and I have not been posting nearly as much as I use to.  I am always days behind on this thread it seems, and I hardly check in on the other ones.  I will try to do better.

Eyeshadows:  I am comfortable with both pan and loose.  I probably use pan more just because I can pull out a palette and do my eyes quickly.  I am not a morning person, so anything that gets my make-up done faster is good.  But I do think the loose indie shadows have some of the best color choices.

Holiday:  Christmas use to be my favorite.  And I still love to decorate for Christmas.  But holidays are all tough for me.  I was an only child and both of my parents have passed.  I am divorced and one of my children has passed.  Holidays have almost become something I endure instead of something I enjoy.  I always loved being surrounded by family, yet I am the only family I can offer my son.  Wow, reading that is kind of a downer.  Sorry.

Jewelry:  I love bangles and stacks of bracelets.  I also like to layer necklaces.  I love longer statement necklaces.  I have a favorite jewelry designer I found at a art fair in Miami.  I order from her often.  I am drawn to her copper and bead pieces.  I wear a little more silver than gold, but like them both.  I have really been liking rose gold lately,

Most coveted item:  Hmm, it was the Tom Ford Bruised Plum lipstick, but I just ordered that with my BG gift cards.  I am not sure if there is anything I really covet right now.

Samples:  I love trying all lip products, eyeshadows, illuminizers and masks (both hair and face).

Pacifica:  I really like the malibu lemon and am interested in smelling the fig.

Style:  I do a lot of pencil skirts, knee high boots, and open cardigans over a tank in the winter time for work.  Casual will still be knee high boots, skinny jeans and a long sweater with a long chunky necklace and an armful of bracelets.  The daytime look in the summer is very similar, but with bare legs and heeled sandals and a different color pallet.  Weekends would be linen drawstring shorts, solid long T's and flat sandals or Toms.

Beverages:  I don't drink coffee.  I like tea and drink a lot of iced tea.  The only flavor of tea I care for is mint.

Fandoms:  None

BBW or VS:  I don't shop either all that often.  I do like some of the fruity BBW scents, but I am not big on citrus scents unless they are combined with something else.  I do love a strawberry or raspberry lemonade scent.


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## meaganola (Jun 18, 2014)

@ Good reminder about buying stuff! I have had a few moments of "Oh, no, don't buy that!" in various places on the forum, not just this thread!

(I've ordered the Avengers collection -- and Up All Night to Get Loki because not ordering it when I'm getting this particular collection is just Not Possible -- from Shiro, but since it just came out this week and since their turnaround time is probably a month, I'm giving myself a pass on it.)


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## marigoldsue (Jun 18, 2014)

Okay another question.  Let's say your buddy has purchased herself something that is on your wish list, tried it and realized it isn't really working for her.  If it is something that is easy to sanitize (i.e. not mascara or lipgloss with a wand) are you open to slightly used items?

Personally I am open to used items that can be sanitized, or items that never really touch another persons skin.  I figure I put silverware in my mouth at a restaurant after someone else has used it and it has been washed and sanitized.  Sanitized make-up is no different to me.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 18, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Okay another question.  Let's say your buddy has purchased herself something that is on your wish list, tried it and realized it isn't really working for her.  If it is something that is easy to sanitize (i.e. not mascara or lipgloss with a wand) are you open to slightly used items?


I'm open to that as well, I'm fine with swatched or gently used items.


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## cobainrls (Jun 18, 2014)

I have to say no to used items. I say that because I wad the kid in high school and college who got pink eye from using other friends' makeup. I dont used makeup at the mall or sephora for the same reason. Now I did just trade for an Elizabeth and James nirvana roolerball that had been used once. That is a different story. I hope I dont sound like a snob. That is not my intention promise.


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## cobainrls (Jun 18, 2014)

And I shouldn't type on my phone either. Sorry for all the typos.


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## cobainrls (Jun 18, 2014)

I love to sample mascaras!


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## SaraP (Jun 18, 2014)

I'd prefer unused items too. I guess spray bottles or pump items would be fine...I'm kinda a germaphobe.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 18, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I have to say no to used items. I say that because I wad the kid in high school and college who got pink eye from using other friends' makeup. I dont used makeup at the mall or sephora for the same reason. Now I did just trade for an Elizabeth and James nirvana roolerball that had been used once. That is a different story. I hope I dont sound like a snob. That is not my intention promise.


I'm on this front too. I get kinda nervous but I'm also with @@marigoldsue on some points too! Used/swatched items should be included as "extras" and the values should not count toward the $25.


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## Allison H (Jun 18, 2014)

I missed another one...LoL sign ups were while I was packing up a house...moving from SC to CA...whomp whomp.

I'm excited to watch and see what you ladies receive!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## cg0112358 (Jun 18, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Okay another question.  Let's say your buddy has purchased herself something that is on your wish list, tried it and realized it isn't really working for her.  If it is something that is easy to sanitize (i.e. not mascara or lipgloss with a wand) are you open to slightly used items?
> 
> Personally I am open to used items that can be sanitized, or items that never really touch another persons skin.  I figure I put silverware in my mouth at a restaurant after someone else has used it and it has been washed and sanitized.  Sanitized make-up is no different to me.


I'm torn on this topic. I'm definitely open to pump/spray type items but am unsure about all others. A recent swap left me with a very experience with this situation. I swapped for an eyeliner that was listed as BN. It did have a small mark it in when I got it but I thought that it looked like it simply got nicked against the cap during opening. I ended up with pink eye 2 days after using it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

The only bright side is my husband told me to throw out everything I used and buy brand new replacements upgrading quality if I wanted. My NYX Love in Rio palette was swapped for the It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty palette, my sample size UD Demo for a full-size, sample size They're Real for full-size Too Faced Better Than Sex, cheapo Ulta beauty blender for It Cosmetics BB, Elf makeup brushes for It Cosmetics double-ended no tug brush. Obviously the end result for my makeup collection was definitely a positive but I was unable to wear eye makeup for almost a month and my eyes still bothered me for another month after.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 18, 2014)

Now I'm getting hesitant about anything used! I'll amend it to anything that's not going near my eyes or lips is fine. Lotions, sprays, etc are good with me.


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## rachelshine (Jun 18, 2014)

@ quick q, should we be expecting our gal's survey by EOW?? I have some slight room left in my budget &amp; want to see what she answered before blowing the rest of it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jun 18, 2014)

turntrekgodhead said:


> Dumb question- where do I put a wishlist? (please like this post if you reply so I can be notified.)


@@turntrekgodhead - I'm on my phone so I can't easily find it but meaganola posted how to create a wish list in the Buy/self/swap thread on the 2nd or 3rd page if this post. It. May even be on the 4th page. You'll need to skim the first several pages.

If you are still having issues, please let me know and I'll post the link here when ur


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## trekkersangel (Jun 18, 2014)

Favorite Samples: I love it all.  My favorite is cleansers &amp; mascaras, but I also love ALL skincare &amp; lip samples. . . especially adorable little mini things. 

Swatched?  I'm fine with swatched items as long as they've never touched your face &amp; have been sanitized.  (I don't even know how to do that actually. . . what is the process for that?)  When I get eyeliners/lipsticks/lipliners from trades &amp; what-not, I always re-sharpen them just in case.  I say if you want to send me something that was used, just include a note saying how it was used (swatched on wrist, etc.) &amp; what you did to clean it &amp; I'm good with that.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 18, 2014)

I like getting serum samples--serums can be quite expensive and those little tubes can last for a while.  I also love getting facial peels (just without papaya or pineapple extract--bad reaction to those).

I am fine with a  powdered blush or  face powder that has been sanitized with alcohol, or let me know and I will do it.  I like colored pencil eyeliners and have traded for them--I just sharpen them and I am ready to go.  Outside of lip products and mascaras, I am pretty open to open items.


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 18, 2014)

I'm fine with opened/swatched/gently used products so long as they have been sanitized.

I guess for me the best example would be say blush, I like blushes. I want to get the Clinique cheek pop blush in peach, if someone wants to give me the blush and I can still make out the flower "stamp" of the blush and the integrity of the blush isn't compromised, bring it on. If it lookes like a sephora tester, no bueno.


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## dancersmum (Jun 18, 2014)

Jewelry - all sentimental things...usually from family...  I always wear my wedding set except when I'm having it replated so my allergy doesn't flare up (once every 2 years approx)...my other hand usually has a ring from someone I love on it (fun rings from the kids or my mother, hubby, brother etc).  I can no longer wear earrings..makes me sad as I loved to but one allergic reaction to many and my ears get to painful and then closed up...

Fav samples - cleansers probably - I've found 2 new favs this way!  But Iove trying new ones &amp; I'm on the hunt for a good makeup remover too

Swatched?  - germaphobe here but pumps or lotions should be okay...


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## Lolo22 (Jun 18, 2014)

I love sampling body lotions, scrubs and hair products. I'm fine with receiving used/swatched nail polish extras, I guess just use your judgement with other things. If you think I'd really like it by all means include it if you tried it and hated it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I'm sure I've posted a lot of things but I've only bought 1 thing for myself (not on any wish lists) and that's cuz it was being discontinued so please don't stress!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Donna529 (Jun 18, 2014)

Hi everyone,

I have been stalking and already buying for my giftee. I forgot to put up a little helper for my swap buddy. Hope I did it right


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## msambrosia (Jun 18, 2014)

Still trying to catch-up after being away from the computer for most of last week. (Talk about a terrible week....) Hopefully my buddy isn't too annoyed with me. 
 
*Eyeshadows:* I have never really used loose shadows, but I would definitely be open to trying them! I'm just now starting to notice all of the great indie shadows. Because most of them are loose, I'm definitely going to have to learn to adapt.
 
*Favorite holiday:*  I actually love the 4th of July. I enjoy getting together with family, spending time in the pool and grilling out. Fireworks are always great. And there's just something about patriotism that gets me choked up.
 
*Jewelry:* I tend to go pretty simple with my jewelry and wear both silver and gold. I love rings and long necklaces. My ears are pierced multiple times, but I don't really wear earrings as much as I used to. I would love to try a big, statement necklace, but I always feel like I look weird. Maybe I just haven't found the right piece yet.
 
*Most coveted item:* I'm been lusting after that Lorac afterGLO Palette for a while now, but I'm also starting to really want the UD Electric Palette.
Also, the Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eyeshadows. I'm kind of obsessed with gold and glitter right now. 
 
*Samples:* I love samples! Mascara and cleansers are probably my favorites. The only thing I really don't love is shampoo/conditioner samples. I've been using the same Lush shampoos for 3+ years and hate to mess with that routine. I have scalp issues, so I'm always afraid a change could cause a flare-up. 
 
*Swatched:* I don't mind swatched items that have been sanitized


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## meaganola (Jun 18, 2014)

I missed a few questions! (It's much, *much* easier for me to deal with a survey -- even if it's super long -- than these questions coming individually, so I'll definitely miss a good chunk.)

Most-coveted item: I don't really have one. Maybe benefit Posiebalm. If I don't get one in a box by Labor Day, I'm picking one up from Birchbox with points!

Samples: Hmm… Shampoo/conditioner/masks, probably. I'm always looking for one to fall in love with! It has yet to happen. And shower gel, just because I love to use a different one every few days, and samples make it easy for my shower to not get buried in partially-used bottles. And lip products! I love lipstick/balm/gloss/etc., which means I have a ton, but I always want more, so samples/minis are actually better for me because the smaller size increases the chance I'll actually use them up.

Used items: I'm going to have to say no, thank you. I *want* to say yes, but the reality is that I accidentally bought a pressed powder that someone had swatched -- just once -- in-store, and I swapped for a pressed blush that looked like it had also been used just a time or two, and despite sanitizing it thoroughly, I just can't bring myself to use them.

And now I have to go to work. Ugh. At least Monday/Tuesday is over.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 18, 2014)

I'd be okay with used/swatched nail polish.


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## button6004 (Jun 18, 2014)

So I'm okay with swatched/gently used nail polishes too.  Same with a blush.  NOTHING that would go near my eyes, though.

Pacifica's lip tints are literally my favorite things ever.  I keep one on me all the time.  My favorites are the guava and blood orange.  I have way too many of them that I actually ended up putting some unopened ones in my trade list because I seriously dont need that many lip tints in my "to be used!" makeup bin. And their Coconut Nectar candle smells great- my husband likes to have one going up in the loft when he is playing video games  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I sort of love lip product samples- like little mini lipglosses or lipsticks.  I have a bunch in a little makeup bag in my work purse so any time I am feeling like more than my usual lip tint, I have plenty of options to choose from!


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## button6004 (Jun 18, 2014)

And if anyone ever offered me a gently used bobbi brown beach product, I would absolutely not turn it down because I am truly addicted to that smell. I find myself smelling my wrists at work sometimes without even realizing it.


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## ashleylind (Jun 18, 2014)

Can everyone please put a Birchbox wish list (with links or just names) in your Summerswap profile? If you don't have one, can you say that here? I have points burning a hole in my pocket!



lastnite629 said:


> The only Pacifica product I own is the eyeshadow duo that came in May's ipsy bag. I still haven't used mine, though.  I'm tempted by the blood orange scent they offer, but i'm always so afraid to buy scented products without sniffing first due to migraines.   Usually fruity/foodie scents don't bother me, though.
> 
> Samples - i love samples of almost everything! Just no perfumes!


While the Blood Orange scent is really nice, just the little sample I tried at Ulta gave me a headache.



wadedl said:


> The Aerin Palette is gorgeous! Now I am obsessed!  :wub:


Isn't it amazing! I found it when trying to decide what to get with my Bergdorf gift card from Glossybox. I'm not in love with what I ended up getting, which makes me wish I splurged even more.



marigoldsue said:


> Okay another question.  Let's say your buddy has purchased herself something that is on your wish list, tried it and realized it isn't really working for her.  If it is something that is easy to sanitize (i.e. not mascara or lipgloss with a wand) are you open to slightly used items?


I'm fine with used lotions, hair products, moisturizers and nail polishes.


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## sstich79 (Jun 18, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Can everyone please put a Birchbox wish list (with links or just names) in your Summerswap profile? If you don't have one, can you say that here? I have points burning a hole in my pocket!


Aha! I now know at least four people who are definitely not my person.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## BSquared (Jun 18, 2014)

I am a-ok with previously loved stuff as long as it can be sanitized! Im germaphobe in stores, but I trust myself enough to sanitize stuff correctly. Maybe not eyeliner though. Yeah, no used eyeliner. Anything else is ok! Edit: maybe not lipstick that you've used on your lips. Yeah, nothing that gets applied directly to your lips.

I also officially have a 2 page list of notes on my person. I need to get my life together. Time to go shopppinnngggggg!!! My 2 things I've already ordered should be here tomorrow! woohoo!

Somewhat related to the swatch question---I know a lot of people have mentioned they'd be open to books. How do people feel about secondhand books, either something your buddy already had, or a book purchased at a second hand book store?? Or would people prefer they be new?

I am ok with either! I actually like pre-loved books. I think it's adorable when I open it and there's a random note on a page or the person's name in the front or something. I just think it's so cute to think of someone else reading the same book and then I wonder if they liked it etc....but I'm weird so thought I'd ask.


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## tulosai (Jun 18, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Ooh! Pacifica warehouse sale on the 27th! This sale information is probably useful only to people in the Portland area, but question time: favorite Pacifica products? Scents? Candles/reed diffusers/room sprays?


Pacifica: I LOVE IT ALL!!! As between Candles/reeds/sprays I usually go for candles though!



Kelly Silva said:


> I feel bad for my person, I feel like I post too much! She's probably overwhelmed by all the things I'm interested in trying!


Same.



curlytails said:


> I'll throw out another question for you ladies.  Is there any particular type of product that you love to sample?  I've discovered that I love samples of BB creams.  They don't always work, but I love trying new ones out.


I actually most love sunscreen samples, and shampoo/conditioner/hair mask.face mask samples.  I love samples in general though, it's just like gimmie gimmie!



marigoldsue said:


> Okay another question.  Let's say your buddy has purchased herself something that is on your wish list, tried it and realized it isn't really working for her.  If it is something that is easy to sanitize (i.e. not mascara or lipgloss with a wand) are you open to slightly used items?


I am definitely okay with swatched items as long as they have been swatched on the wrist/arm (i.e. not the face) and are sanitizable. I am also definitely okay with lightly used/swatched sprays, nail polishes, lotions, whatever. I am not okay with anything that has ever actually touched your eyes or lips, no matter how sanitized.



bsquared said:


> Somewhat related to the swatch question---I know a lot of people have mentioned they'd be open to books. How do people feel about secondhand books, either something your buddy already had, or a book purchased at a second hand book store?? Or would people prefer they be new?


Definitely okay with secondhand books... it actually hadn't occurred to me that anyone might not be as long as they are in decent shape?


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 18, 2014)

samples -- lotion and moisturizer packets because i like them for travel. i used to love hair foils but i have a sensitive scalp so i get too scared to use them now. serums/facemask foils are good too since its a great way to try a possibly $$ product! then of course, i love mini eyeliners, mascaras, blushes, etc.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 18, 2014)

Books: YES. I will read almost anything. New, used, written on a napkin, it's all good. I would LOVE to read a book that you loved!


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## meaganola (Jun 18, 2014)

Books: I actually prefer used books! If they're new, I get nervous about messing them up. A battered paperback? It's just a sign that the book has been well-loved, and it will go more places with me, typically in the bottom of my messenger bag (not a place for new books!). My used book standards are low: My basic rules are that all pages need to be there (if pages are falling out, well, that's why we have rubberbands and binder clips), and it needs to be bodily fluid-free (my previous cats barfed *everywhere*, so that wasn't a guarantee with them). Oh, and non-smoke-smelling preferred. Just because cigarettes are disgusting.


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## button6004 (Jun 18, 2014)

So I was going to make a Birchbox wishlist- do I just add stuff to favorites that I would like and post the link to my favorites? @@ashleylind


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## button6004 (Jun 18, 2014)

Books- while I love classics like Jane Austen (I have all of her books) and Sherlock Holmes stories, I cant get enough of fun quick beachy reads in the summer.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 18, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Can everyone please put a Birchbox wish list (with links or just names) in your Summerswap profile? If you don't have one, can you say that here? I have points burning a hole in my pocket!
> 
> While the Blood Orange scent is really nice, just the little sample I tried at Ulta gave me a headache.


I do not have a Birchbox wish list.  I can try to work on one if my buddy would like. 

Thank you for the heads up about the Blood Orange scent!


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## meaganola (Jun 18, 2014)

button6004 said:


> So I was going to make a Birchbox wishlist- do I just add stuff to favorites that I would like and post the link to my favorites? @@ashleylind


You will have to list the items/links on your forum wishlist. There is no way to share your list on Birchbox with other people. (I asked Birchbox directly, specifically for summer gift exchange purposes, and they're the ones who told me this isn't possible.)


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## button6004 (Jun 18, 2014)

meaganola said:


> You will have to list the items/links on your forum wishlist. There is no way to share your list on Birchbox with other people. (I asked Birchbox directly, specifically for summer gift exchange purposes, and they're the ones who told me this isn't possible.)


Awesome, thanks!


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## jesemiaud (Jun 18, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I'm open to that as well, I'm fine with swatched or gently used items.


Yep, me too!
And I'm fine with books...used or otherwise!


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## Kelli (Jun 18, 2014)

Earlier I mentioned the general jewelry I liked, but didn't say that I wear bracelets, rings, necklaces and have pierced ears. I'll wear any length of necklace, stud or dangly earrings etc. I just love costume type jewelry in any form.

Samples: I think my fave samples are facial skincare items. I am horrible about taking care of my face and I don't really buy much face stuff, but I do crack out the cleanser/serum/whatever-else-facecare-potions are around. Those are my faves, but I am open to any foils or minis.

Swatched/Lightly used: I don't mind swatched/lightly used nail polish, powdered blush shower gels, facial cleansers/serums etc-that you don't apply directly from the container to your face- and I think I'd be ok with powdered shadows if just swatched on arm/hand.  Hopefully, that doesn't sound too prissy, I am just slightly germaphobic lol I blame my mom and aunt haha

Used Books: 95% of my book collection is used, so I am down with used books!! I work with my friend and his used book sales and he will let me just take anything I want in his inventory, so I that's how I get most of my books. The rest I buy at places like Goodwill.

ETA: Can someone post a link to a good blog post or youtube video on sanitizing cosmetics? I remember looking for one before and never found one that seemed to be very informative. I'm not going to be sending my person anything used, just because if I like something enough to crack it open and swatch or use it, I most likely like it enough to keep it, but it's something I'd like to know how to do.


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## dotybird (Jun 18, 2014)

I just added a Birchbox wishlist to my summerswap list. 

In terms of samples, I can't get enough of travel sized cleanser, face moisturizers and toners.  I also really like hand creams.

I would prefer not to get swatched or gently used items.


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## button6004 (Jun 18, 2014)

YAY I made a birchbox list on my wishlist  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## CurlyTails (Jun 18, 2014)

I prefer new books only because I have a terrible allergy to dust (the allergist said 10 out of 10 in terms of severity) and sometimes used books that have been sitting around collect dust and will give me terrible headaches.


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## BSquared (Jun 18, 2014)

Kelli said:


> ETA: Can someone post a link to a good blog post or youtube video on sanitizing cosmetics? I remember looking for one before and never found one that seemed to be very informative. I'm not going to be sending my person anything used, just because if I like something enough to crack it open and swatch or use it, I most likely like it enough to keep it, but it's something I'd like to know how to do.


I can't get into youtube at work, but here's a blog post I found on it! (not my blog)

http://modernrosies.blogspot.com/2012/01/beauty-buzz-how-to-sanitize-your-makeup.html


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## SaraP (Jun 18, 2014)

I don't have birchbox, but it sounds like a lot of people do.

I love all samples, but I recently found out retinol eye creams cause my eyes to go crazy. My face is fine with retinol but crazy eyes is not my best look.


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## rachelshine (Jun 18, 2014)

@@SaraP, you don't need it to make your "list"! Just browse the store &amp; add onto to your SS list some products you'd like  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Those of us that have Birchbox tend to hoard points and can make purchases without having to spend our budget! 

@@Kelli, here's a video that shows you how to sanitize all products -


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## rachelshine (Jun 18, 2014)

So I found this link thru a "What's something free no one realizes thread" on reddit &amp; thought it would be useful for us when it comes to packing up our presents! Apparently USPS will send you free Priority Mail boxes. Mods, LMK if this isn't kosher to post  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

https://store.usps.com/store/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=free-shipping-supplies&amp;categoryNavIds=shipping-supplies%3Afree-shipping-supplies


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## meaganola (Jun 18, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> So I found this link thru a "What's something free no one realizes thread" on reddit &amp; thought it would be useful for us when it comes to packing up our presents! Apparently USPS will send you free Priority Mail boxes. Mods, LMK if this isn't kosher to post  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> https://store.usps.com/store/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=free-shipping-supplies&amp;categoryNavIds=shipping-supplies%3Afree-shipping-supplies


I'm not in charge of this swap, but from a general mod perspective, it's totally cool and something that should be on a seasonal exchange FAQ if someone (probably me, since I think I have one for Midsummer half-written somewhere on my desktop) ever gets around to making (finishing) one!


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## Kelli (Jun 18, 2014)

@@BSquared @@rachelshine thank you! Those are both very helpful  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Dashery (Jun 18, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> So I found this link thru a "What's something free no one realizes thread" on reddit &amp; thought it would be useful for us when it comes to packing up our presents! Apparently USPS will send you free Priority Mail boxes. Mods, LMK if this isn't kosher to post  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> https://store.usps.com/store/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=free-shipping-supplies&amp;categoryNavIds=shipping-supplies%3Afree-shipping-supplies


Hey, I'll never say no to a free spiderman box!

As for used products: I'm kind of on the fence. I'd have no problem with powders that have been swatched a few times, but definitely no moist products (like lipsticks, creams, etc.). Just the potential for bacteria to grow in a moist environment sends me running. (Of course, bacteria can grow on powders too. Especially if they get moist from your sweat...)

But anyway, if it's an eye shadow or blush that been swatched (an preferably sanitized, if that's possible), I don't think I'd be too worried. So long as the powder never touched a brush; those things are ripe with germs. 

But yeah, swatched with fingers: not a problem!


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## DonnaD (Jun 18, 2014)

My favourite samples are moisturizer and perfume.

I don't mind swatched samples but no mascara or lipstick/gloss.

I love reading and I read everything from romance to horror to biography.  Send me what you really like and I will totally read it.


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 18, 2014)

Ok I added some Birchbox wish list items to the bottom of my summer swap link. I'll add more as I browse.

Pacifica products: Love coconut scents and the coconut water wipes. I've liked nearly every scent I've tried from them, but I bought a TON of the Malibu lemon last time Ipsy did a promo so I have literally every item in that line almost. I don't care for their home fragrance such as reed diffusers, or soy candles (soy tends not to have a strong enough throw for my sniffer). Hand creams will always be used as will lip balms

I don't think I addressed coveted items:  cle de peau concealer, I don't expect my swap buddy to even bother with my pie in the sky coveted item.  I mean a $70 concealer?  I heard it's magical though.

Books:  Sure, not big reader, mostly time constraints, week nights is mostly errands, gym, dinner, dishes, maybe tv if it's a show I like, but most of the time I make lunch and coffee for the next day, wash my face, brush my teeth and maybe have 20 mins to flip through a magazine before I fall asleep and lately I can't seem to get in bed before 11pm.

Reading more books is on my Summer 2014 goals (I'm also running a 8k later this summer).

Favorite things to sample: Cleansers (Paula's Choice items) and makeup wipes. (boring!) Also, masks, perfumes and mascaras oh and lip balms and dry shampoos!  

Mostly, I just wanted to say I don't want my swap buddy to stress. I'll literally be happy with anything she puts together because it's a gift, one that she (or he) is putting time and effort (not to mention money) into, and that's way more valuable than anything.


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## cg0112358 (Jun 18, 2014)

Before I asked what your most coveted item is, this time I'll ask what is your most valued beauty item? Skincare, makeup? What specific item can you not live without?

ETA: I wasn't very clear...


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## trekkersangel (Jun 18, 2014)

I love books old, new, borrowed, blue! Love them all.

My most valued item would have to be my naked 3 palette. My secret Santa blew me away with that surprise for Christmas &amp; I don't know how I ever lived without it! It's something I'd never buy myself on my own, but it's my favorite thing in my make-up drawer! My 2nd most valued product is my Starlooks tendergloss in Babe. I would die without it. Perfect formula &amp; perfect color for me!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 18, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> Before I asked what your most coveted item is, this time I'll ask what is your most valued beauty item? makeup or skincare


Definitely makeup.  Once my dark circles are covered up, skin is evened out and I get a little color on my cheeks I feel like a new woman lol.  Skincare is more like something I have to do so I just try to get products that make it more bearable (usually anything that smells good is enough to make me want to use it).  I love my Too Faced shadows, they make me happy every morning and after that blush (all of it) because I just think it makes such a difference.


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## SaraP (Jun 18, 2014)

I'd say makeup, it covers all the things skin care can't fix  :satisfied:


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 18, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> So I found this link thru a "What's something free no one realizes thread" on reddit &amp; thought it would be useful for us when it comes to packing up our presents! Apparently USPS will send you free Priority Mail boxes. Mods, LMK if this isn't kosher to post  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> https://store.usps.com/store/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=free-shipping-supplies&amp;categoryNavIds=shipping-supplies%3Afree-shipping-supplies


hahha. my boyfriend's younger sister places and order for USPS boxes so she can use them during Christmas time. Its super wasteful and kinda annoying but I guess she's saving money by not buying gift boxes from Target! (last year I saved all her boxes and used them for swaps but I didn't do that the year before)


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## meaganola (Jun 18, 2014)

Makeup. Especially colorful makeup, not neutrals or base-type stuff. My skin FREAKS OUT (I'm talking chemical burn-type reactions) if it doesn't like new skincare, so I can't really change things up in that area.


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## Dashery (Jun 18, 2014)

I realized I never answered either of these questions:

Most coveted: Okay, right now I am seriously coveting the Ariel collections that have shown up at Walgreens lately. There are these ardell lash kits and e.l.f. makeup kits, and I want to go out right now and buy them all! Honestly, I think I just love the gorgeous packaging (the art is majorly stunning!). But I do love lashes, and I like a lot of the swatches of the e.l.f. makeup. Also, those brushes are super cute!

Most valued: Makeup. As for a specific product: a nice foundation. (Which, on a side note, I need a new one for summer. Something with SPF and not so heavy. I'll probably look into drugstore stuff for something soon.)


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## BSquared (Jun 18, 2014)

Oh and side note I've been trying to be good and not buy anything that is on my list, but if my buddy is reading this, I would never be mad at getting stuff I already had so please don't stress if you see I bought something!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jun 18, 2014)

I also wouldn't mind receiving an item I already have, I've done my best to be good and not purchase any products, especially ones on my wishlist. Mostly I've been shopping for my gal and family.


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## cg0112358 (Jun 18, 2014)

I edited my post above to clarify, I was looking to see what item is your most valued. Basically what item in your beauty routine (skin care or makeup) could you not live without?


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## button6004 (Jun 18, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> I edited my post above to clarify, I was looking to see what item is your most valued. Basically what item in your beauty routine (skin care or makeup) could you not live without?


Mascara.  I think just a quick swipe of mascara fixes SO much, it brightens up the eyes.

Followed by a good tinted lip balm and concealer.


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## BSquared (Jun 18, 2014)

Couldn't live without: Purity made simple face wash. I think my persistent acne patch on my chin is FINALLY going away and all I've done is stripped down my skin care to the bare minimum: cleanser, serum at night. Cleanser and moisturizer in the morning. I credit this face wash with it.

Makeup: Mascara, I think it makes the biggest difference for me. I don't have an HG, so really any non-terrible mascara. And chapstick/lip balm. I hate when my lips feel dry.


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## bonita22 (Jun 18, 2014)

Swatched/lightly used: I'm ok with nail polish that's been swatched or used once. Also eyeliners that can be sharpened and powdered products are ok.

Samples: I love mascara, eyeliner, lotion and lip product samples.

Item I can't live without nail polish.

Also to my swap buddy, I haven't bought anything from my list. The only product I'm constantly on the lookout for is the sample of Laqa in purple but I'm ok with multiples of that one.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 18, 2014)

most coveted (in terms of couldn't live without) a good moisturizer! i'm loving what i'm using. my skin gets so crazy dry sometimes.

runner up? honesty policy? nad wax strips from target (the green ones) -- ummm...yeah, i definitely get a mustache. eventually i want laser removal (i think i can get rid of my lady stash with that, right?) I used to use the Sally Hanson wax strips but I didn't like how it felt like tapey it felt. Protip: exfoliating and baby powder are your best friend in the home waxing game.


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## Christa W (Jun 18, 2014)

Whoever has me need not worry about me buying anything. I'm on a no buy except for this summer swap so no chance in me getting it too. I've started my shopping but have to wait for payday so I'm pacing myself. I think she's going to love what I have planned so I am not stressed in the slightest thankfully!!!

As far as gently used items books are a hell yeah most of mine come from yard sales and goodwill and I am most certainly fine with polish. I bought a bag of cosmetics at Goodwill for $1.16 and it contained Bourjois lipstick in Violine estival which I think on Amazon was $22 bucks. I don't know how to sanitize it but I can't bring myself to toss it. Also in there was Hollister lip gloss, pressed powder from wet n wild never opened, some barielle nighttime cuticle oil and something else I can't recall. I just don't want a box full of stuff someone else doesn't want. I don't want or need any mascara or lipstick anyway...

Most valued item is my polish collection. I don't wear much makeup despite having a lot mostly because I suck at applying it. You would think I'd get around to the make up forums!!! If I had a nicer item like the Naked or Electric type pallets maybe I would wear more makeup who knows? I know my boyfriend wishes I'd be more girly in my clothing and beauty regime. I'm a tee shirt and jeans girl.
The dorkier the shirt the better.

I don't wear jewlery. Boyfriend's mom keeps giving me all kinds of stuff but other than my hoop earrings I wear out I don't wear any at all. I used to wear candy necklaces!!!

Oh fandoms... Star Wars, Lord of the Rings (used to have a stand up cardboard cut out of Legolas in my bedroom). Those are my two big ones in that its my goal in life to meet everyone who has been in Star Wars... I've done some fun LotR costumes as well. I'm super fanatical about a great many things on top of these but probably won't consider them really fandoms.


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## button6004 (Jun 18, 2014)

My husband doesnt understand why I love nail polish so  much.  All of the colors!!

I paint my nails every week. Its my one little pampering thing. I love it!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 18, 2014)

I think I'm already done shopping for my person lol.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 18, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> I think I'm already done shopping for my person lol.


lol me too!


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## DonnaD (Jun 18, 2014)

The things I can't live without are handy, body and facial moisturizers.

Nobody has to worry about whether or not I'll buy anything on my "list" since I don't really have a brand specific list.  I've also been on a no nail polish buy since January.  I promised myself I will not buy new polish until I use every single one I have at least once.  I'm guessing I won't be buying polish all the way through to December.  Why, no.  I do not have a nail polish hoarding problem.  Why do you ask?


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## CurlyTails (Jun 18, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Oh and side note I've been trying to be good and not buy anything that is on my list, but if my buddy is reading this, I would never be mad at getting stuff I already had so please don't stress if you see I bought something!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Same here!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 18, 2014)

My most coveted item right now is my Beautyblender.  Seriously don't know what I did before!


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## SaraP (Jun 18, 2014)

I "think" I'm done shopping for the swap...I have 10 subscription boxes heading my way, so I'm fairly certain...well I do need to pick up a "lifestyle" item that I've been eyeing   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> SO. MUCH. FUN!!!


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## SaraP (Jun 18, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> runner up? honesty policy? nad wax strips from target (the green ones) -- ummm...yeah, i definitely get a mustache. eventually i want laser removal (i think i can get rid of my lady stash with that, right?) I used to use the Sally Hanson wax strips but I didn't like how it felt like tapey it felt. Protip: exfoliating and baby powder are your best friend in the home waxing game.


I just started waxing last year and really like it. I just do my legs, can't even think about the underarms with out cringing! I'll have to try the green ones...Are they target brand or is nad the brand?

My kiddo has a very hairy upper lip and uni-brow. A few months ago she was looking in the mirror and said "oh man, it's true, I have a uni-brow" I said "you have a mustache too" (hey we're honest here) "I don't care about that" she said. (Also she thought it would be cool if she had a handle bar stash  ) I've told her we can take care of that if she wanted, so I plucked her down to 2 brows and helped remove some of the stach. 

I'm wondering if wax is the better way to go? Any thoughts on a pre-teen waxing?


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## valeried44 (Jun 18, 2014)

Man, I just feel like I'm way behind when I visit this forum in the evening.  

I've tried a few Pacifica scents and have liked what I've tried (blood orange, lemon blossom, french lilac, coconut).  I'd love getting a Pacifica product in a scent I know I like or haven't tried yet.  

When it comes to used/swatched/sampled items, I wouldn't care for anything for my lips or eyes.  Like others have said, pencils that can be sharpened are easy to "sanitize", so those would be ok.  Other than that, if you think you would be fine with using something like that from someone else, I would be fine with it too.  

I'll take used books!  

Samples I love:  I would be happy to receive any kind of samples.  I just love to try things out. The only ones that I probably wouldn't use much are perfumes.  I have quite a collection already and I forget to use them most of the time.  I especially love masks and moisturizers. 

My most loved beauty items are foundation and anything that helps me exfoliate.  For exfoliation I'm currently using Dr Brandt Microderm Abrasion for occasional use and a Swissco facial loofah pad that I got from a BB5 box a few months ago with whatever cleanser I'm using.  I love that loofah pad!


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## jayeme (Jun 18, 2014)

I don't mind lightly used/swatched items at all, as long as they're properly sanitized. 

On second thought about samples - face masks! I like to mix it up and use different ones. Also perfumes, I pretty much never buy perfumes, just rely on samples. 

My most loved beauty item right now is my Stila Convertible Color in Lillium. My most coveted item would be the Houglass powders or blushes; or, well, I'm always on the search for my HG foundation, concealer, and powder combo. I can never make my skin look quite like I want it to!


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## dancersmum (Jun 18, 2014)

used books - sure - but all pages please and non-smoking environment as that is my other migraine trigger!

Pacifica - I haven't tried but I'm curious about their rose scented things...both the Egyptian bergamot rose and the Persian rose.

Coveted items - totally don't expect these as they are $$$ are Givenchy black change colour lipstick, and the red lippie on Sephora that is the  Bite beauty VIB ROUGE cream lipstick (that I can't buy cos I'm not Rouge).

Most loved item - my fav skincare serums 

I hope that catches me up on everything!

I am waiting for packages to arrive...so excited...I bought my box and have looked at shipping costs....


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## jayeme (Jun 18, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Pacifica - I haven't tried but I'm curious about their rose scented things...both the Egyptian bergamot rose and the Persian rose.


I didn't know they had rose scents - now I want to try those, too!


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## meaganola (Jun 18, 2014)

Ooh, I just realized what my most-loved item is: My Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette. I don't use it very often, but this falls under fandom because I'm *obsessed* with _Alice in Wonderland_, although preferably the book, not the Burton movie that the palette was a tie-in for.

And SO EXCITED! I just received one item (part of a larger order with other things not for this exchange) and a separate order of something completely different for my buddy! I still have… Two orders? Three? I can't remember at the moment! They're all written down. Anyway. There are still a few things I haven't received yet, either because the orders are supposed to be delivered within the next week or because they haven't shipped yet. And then we'll have to see how next weekend shakes out, and then I might actually be done with shopping and on my way to being an early shipper!

(In completely unrelated news, Edgar is OH SO VERY HIGH right now. I just gave him a new scratching pad -- I'm going to need to get another backup at Trader Joe's this weekend -- and sprinkled it generously with catnip. He *lurves* it.)


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## CurlyTails (Jun 18, 2014)

I think I need to write out what I've gotten my swap buddy so far and plan out what I still want to get. I've gone through my actual budget so now it's time to get creative!


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## rachelshine (Jun 18, 2014)

I keep buying without the survey, ooop! By the time I get, I will only have BB points left to use *shrug* I am happy with what I have gotten her tho  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Plus a few things for me too  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jun 18, 2014)

I forgot about the survey...oops!


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## BSquared (Jun 18, 2014)

Just put in another order!!! Woohoo!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 18, 2014)

I don't even remember what I put it my survey, but I think it was all stuff in my wish list so don't worry super secret person! I am waiting to get the one for my person, just in case it has some more info. But I have already made a list for my person, and once I get the survey I'll just double check and start actually shopping instead of amassing samples and swaps!


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## meaganola (Jun 18, 2014)

Aw, crap. The order I thought I placed Sunday night? Was not in fact placed. Let's try this again…

(Maybe the Birchbox pick-two -- ordered as part of a points-to-GC flip -- that's being delivered next week has something good for my swap buddy.)


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 18, 2014)

Just for peace of mind I thought I would let you all know -

1. We have only sent out names, not addresses. Considering that we still have a long way to go before the mailing period, everything will be ok! You will get the addresses before then and we're all so excited to watch this all unfold!!

2. I've creeped on all of the Summerswap surveys (and OMG it was fun!!!). Everyone did a great job at sharing a lot of info! For the most part, everything reflected in a survey or about me posts or threads shares the same, if not more, of the exact info gathered from those surveys at sign ups.

If you would have more peace of mind seeing the sign up responses, please PM me and I will send it. Also, if you have a partner who is a little more shy and you'd like more information or has not completed a survey, please use a roadie!

There are 50+ summer swappers and we know you're all excited. Thanks for being patient and using your ninja powers to stealthily stalk and curate a beautiful gift for your buddy even without the surveys!

If anyone has any questions or is not pleased about this post, please PM me and let's talk it through! I'm happy to help and come to a resolution!

(I do hope to keep up with my reasonable response time. I will be defending my thesis in a few weeks so I may really only be online in the early AM or late PM but please reach out)


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## dancersmum (Jun 19, 2014)

Sorry off topic - but I wanted to post as a few of you have been in touch - my son is finally getting better  - he's been out of the wheelchair and using crutches!  I'm SOOOOOOOOOO relieved and happy....baby steps...got to work on walking again...but yay pain is under control and I have no idea what it was that helped as we did so many different things but don't mind me I'm just HAPPY!


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## SaraP (Jun 19, 2014)

That's great!! Glad he's doing better and super glad his pain is controlled!


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## Babs28 (Jun 19, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Just for peace of mind I thought I would let you all know -
> 
> 1. We have only sent out names, not addresses. Considering that we still have a long way to go before the mailing period, everything will be ok! You will get the addresses before then and we're all so excited to watch this all unfold!!
> 
> ...


You can PM me if you have any issues, especially since Jess is working on her thesis. I'm not online all the time during the day but I do check the posts and my PMs frequently and respond ASAP.

The responses were used to match people up! If anyone listed allergies, they have included them in their wish lists but we will include this info in the PMs we send out with addresses and will send that specific information sooner than later as well as the two international addresses.


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## bonita22 (Jun 19, 2014)

@@dancersmum I'm glad he's feeling better and that his pain is under control. Best wishes for a continued recovery!


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## Babs28 (Jun 19, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Sorry off topic - but I wanted to post as a few of you have been in touch - my son is finally getting better  - he's been out of the wheelchair and using crutches!  I'm SOOOOOOOOOO relieved and happy....baby steps...got to work on walking again...but yay pain is under control and I have no idea what it was that helped as we did so many different things but don't mind me I'm just HAPPY!


No reason to be sorry for posting that you are HAPPY!!  This is GREAT news!!!  WONDERFUL!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## ashleylind (Jun 19, 2014)

jayeme said:


> I didn't know they had rose scents - now I want to try those, too!


I didn't know this either! I might have to check out Pacifica again. I'm such a sucker for rose-scented items.

I've pretty much figured out everything I'm getting my person, and I made some trades and purchases yesterday. This is way too much fun.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Jac13 (Jun 19, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> I didn't know this either! I might have to check out Pacifica again. I'm such a sucker for rose-scented items.
> 
> I've pretty much figured out everything I'm getting my person, and I made some trades and purchases yesterday. This is way too much fun.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


That is great. I honestly have no idea what I am getting my person. I hope my person is not saying the same about me. If so, please use a roadie. I plan on using one after I send out my midnight summer gift.


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## ashleylind (Jun 19, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> That is great. I honestly have no idea what I am getting my person. I hope my person is not saying the same about me. If so, please use a roadie. I plan on using one after I send out my midnight summer gift.


When does the midsummer one end? I'm scared to get too many things, until I see what my person got there?


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## Jac13 (Jun 19, 2014)

sarap said:


> I just started waxing last year and really like it. I just do my legs, can't even think about the underarms with out cringing! I'll have to try the green ones...Are they target brand or is nad the brand?
> 
> My kiddo has a very hairy upper lip and uni-brow. A few months ago she was looking in the mirror and said "oh man, it's true, I have a uni-brow" I said "you have a mustache too" (hey we're honest here) "I don't care about that" she said. (Also she thought it would be cool if she had a handle bar stash  ) I've told her we can take care of that if she wanted, so I plucked her down to 2 brows and helped remove some of the stach.
> 
> I'm wondering if wax is the better way to go? Any thoughts on a pre-teen waxing?


My daughter is hairy and a drama diva, lol. So I found that waxing is much better for me and last longer. I tried the olay hair removal for face but it broke her out and of course that was a melt down. So yeah... waxing is pretty good. I go to the same person at a salon and we have all been happy. Good luck on the waxing.


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## Jac13 (Jun 19, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> When does the midsummer one end? I'm scared to get too many things, until I see what my person got there?


I think it ends mid July. Some gifts are starting to trickle in. I will send my gift out next week.


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## meaganola (Jun 19, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> When does the midsummer one end? I'm scared to get too many things, until I see what my person got there?


Shipping was supposed to be July 7th through the 11th, but there are several gifts that have already been sent (including the one coming to me!), so keep an eye on the reveal thread, and you might see your person getting her package sooner rather than later.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 19, 2014)

@@SaraP re: waxing: Nads is the brand. I buy their products from Target.

I think I got my brows done in.... 6th grade maybe? And I plucked my mustashe when I was younger than that then my mom was like "lol no. We're gonna have you waxed". But, gotta note that my mom worked in the beauty industry for most of her 20s until she became a teacher. All her friends were hair stylists, etc. and they didn't have any problem waxing or dying the hair of their own children. I never even thought waxing hurt at all - anywhere!


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## wadedl (Jun 19, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @@SaraP re: waxing: Nads is the brand. I buy their products from Target.
> 
> I think I got my brows done in.... 6th grade maybe? And I plucked my mustashe when I was younger than that then my mom was like "lol no. We're gonna have you waxed". But, gotta note that my mom worked in the beauty industry for most of her 20s until she became a teacher. All her friends were hair stylists, etc. and they didn't have any problem waxing or dying the hair of their own children. I never even thought waxing hurt at all - anywhere!


I bought the Nads last time instead of my regular Sally Hansen. The Nads works so much better and gets the stubborn hairs that the Sally Hansen does't but I think it causes a little more redness. I think the Sally Hansen would work well enough on someone younger.

I have the Olay hair removal stuff for when I procrastinate and it works really well but a few days later I feel like I have a full on mustache growing back since it comes back even instead of patchy.


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## SaraP (Jun 19, 2014)

Sally Hansen was fine for me, but last time purchased the purple Veet because it was on sale. UGH it leaves wax residue on my legs, even after the oil wipes and a shower. I won't be getting those again. I will be trying the Nads and baby power tips.


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## rachelshine (Jun 19, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Shipping was supposed to be July 7th through the 11th, but there are several gifts that have already been sent (including the one coming to me!), so keep an eye on the reveal thread, and you might see your person getting her package sooner rather than later.


I keep checking to make sure I haven't gotten her anything her other giftee did! I also figure she probably won't mind some overlap if we happen to both have awesome taste. Or perhaps I'll keep some goodies and have more to spend on her  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jun 19, 2014)

I've been loving the reveals from the other swap! 

* I better check if my gal is swapping there too...


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## CurlyTails (Jun 19, 2014)

After laying out what I have so far, I'm feeling pretty good about my gift. I have some packages coming in tomorrow and I'm excited to see everything together.


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## wadedl (Jun 19, 2014)

I have a question if you had an item you wanted coming in your package would you rather get 1full size item that has been opened or 2 minis? The full size contains more product than the two minis and you put it on cotton balls so it has never had fingers dipped or dirty brushes on it.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 20, 2014)

wadedl said:


> I have a question if you had an item you wanted coming in your package would you rather get 1full size item that has been opened or 2 minis? The full size contains more product than the two minis and you put it on cotton balls so it has never had fingers dipped or dirty brushes on it.


I'd be fine with either.  I'm really not that particular, especially if it never touched your skin/face.  You might want to leave a little note saying it was opened, but never touched, but I know I would be fine with the full size.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 20, 2014)

wadedl said:


> I have a question if you had an item you wanted coming in your package would you rather get 1full size item that has been opened or 2 minis? The full size contains more product than the two minis and you put it on cotton balls so it has never had fingers dipped or dirty brushes on it.


I really wouldn't have a preference.


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## button6004 (Jun 20, 2014)

I probably wouldnt mind either way.

I really need to get cracking on my shopping!


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## marigoldsue (Jun 20, 2014)

Okay, next questions:

Who has pierced ears?

What size ring do you wear?

Shoe size?


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## meaganola (Jun 20, 2014)

wadedl said:


> I have a question if you had an item you wanted coming in your package would you rather get 1full size item that has been opened or 2 minis? The full size contains more product than the two minis and you put it on cotton balls so it has never had fingers dipped or dirty brushes on it.


I prefer minis, period. I'm such a flitterer that I can't remember the last mini (other than shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, or hair mask) I finished, nevermind a full-sized product!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 20, 2014)

Pierced ears: Yes, only wear studs though or really boho 'danglers' as I call them.

Ring size:  6 or 7 depending on the finger.

Shoes:  8/m


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 20, 2014)

I don't think I ever answered the item I can't live w/o:

Hands down the Nars Eyeshadow primer.  Nothing has ever worked better for my oily eyelids.

I have no preference on one full size item vs 2 mini's opened vs new sealed.

I'm pierced, two in each ear but I never swap my second set, they're diamond studs and I wear them always.  I like all types of earrings, but love pearls (birthstone) and classic gold or silver hoops.

Rings: I think my middle finger on my left hand is a 7, that's the only finger I wear rings, generally.

Shoes: 10, I wear flats mostly and avoid socks when it's warm (except athletic socks for crossfit classes and running, of course).

Oh and my swap buddy messaged me about nail polish (via roadie of course) I'm working on a list of brands/shade/ for you!


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 20, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Okay, next questions:
> 
> Who has pierced ears?
> 
> ...


Pierced ears

Ring size 5 or 6 depending on the finger

Shoe size 8


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## button6004 (Jun 20, 2014)

I have pierced ears!

I wear about a size 6 ring.

8.5 or 9 shoe, depends on the shoe. 8.5 is usually a good bet.


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## tulosai (Jun 20, 2014)

I have no preference on one full size item opened vs 2 mini's new sealed.

I'm pierced,  I like all types of earrings except for really really heavy ones.  Like, if it is going to visibly pull down on my ear, it's too much.

Rings: I do wear them and love them but have no real clue of my size (I mostly get at craft fairs and just try them on until I like one that fits).  If someone has me and wants me to figure it out I will... send a message through a roadie.

Shoes: 8.5 tends to be ideal.  If only 8 or 9 are the choices, go with 8.  I love cute flats and flip flops.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 20, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Okay, next questions:
> 
> Who has pierced ears?
> 
> ...


My ears are pierced. Twice in each ear. 

I have fat stumpy fingers.  I wear a 10 on my ring finger. 

Size 10 shoe.  I've had a lot of foot &amp; ankle issues over the last few years so I really only wear sneakers with lots of support.


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## Kelli (Jun 20, 2014)

I would be ok with either the full sized used or the two minis. In general I like mini's just because I change up skincare and stuff a lot cause I like to try out everything lol, but either would be fine to me.

Earrings: Yes, I have pierced (since I was 10 months old) and wear anything from studs to really long dangly things.

Shoe Size: Typically a 9 1/2, but sometimes 9's or 10's fit (which is good since so many shoes don't come in 9 1/2), but typically go with 10 if 9 1/2 isn't available.

Ring size: I wear rings ,on all fingers so I can make anything from 8-10 work for me.


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## ashleylind (Jun 20, 2014)

I'm okay with full size or minis. Just bring on the pretties!!! :wub:

My shoe size is an 8, and I love flip flops and other flats.

I'm not sure on my ring size, but I'm not really good at wearing fashion rings. I wear my wedding ring and the sapphire-star ring that I acquired from my mom, and that's it.

My ears are pierced.


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## dancersmum (Jun 20, 2014)

I'm no longer able to wear earrings  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Ring size - think its 5.5

Shoe size - 7 wide...and fat  - I have the worlds most unattractive feet


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## valeried44 (Jun 20, 2014)

I wouldn't mind either the open or unopened item.  I'd tend to lean towards the 2 minis - if it's something I love, I like to have one for home and one for travel.  But, really, either would be just fine.  

I don't have pierced ears.  (I don't know why I didn't mention that with the earlier jewelry question.  I guess, I don't even think about it)  My ring size is 8 and my shoe size is 9-10.


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## dotybird (Jun 20, 2014)

Either the opened full size or the two minis would be welcomed!

I have pierced ears, have teeny tiny fingers (my wedding band is a 3.75, but I can wear up to a 5) and wear a size 5 shoe.

One more question- would you prefer a bunch of smaller gifts or 1-2 larger items?


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## tulosai (Jun 20, 2014)

dotybird said:


> One more question- would you prefer a bunch of smaller gifts or 1-2 larger items?


Either would be fine, but all things being equal, I'd probably prefer more smaller items because I unfortunately so rarely use anything large up. 

PS- WOW your fingers are small.


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## cobainrls (Jun 20, 2014)

I think I would prefer the minis.  I do have pierced ears. I go for silver jewelry and stud like earrings.  I think my ring finger is a 7. I am really into midi rings though right now. My shoe size is a 9.


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## Kelli (Jun 20, 2014)

dotybird said:


> One more question- would you prefer a bunch of smaller gifts or 1-2 larger items?


I am ok with either way. I tend to shop for myself by getting multiple smaller items instead of one larger, but would be happy with either from my person  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I am just sooooo excited to see who has me and if they find a bunch of smaller items that they think I'd like, that's awesome! If they see one or two pricier things that they think I will totally love, I am happy with that, too!! I'm easy to please, I swear!


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## DonnaD (Jun 20, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Okay, next questions:
> 
> Who has pierced ears?
> 
> ...


I can't wear earrings.

8...I think

9 to 9 1/2

As for minis or full size, I have no preference.


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## SaraP (Jun 20, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> I'm no longer able to wear earrings  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> Ring size - think its 5.5
> 
> Shoe size - 7 wide...and fat  - I have the worlds most unattractive feet


Well I guess if you get the worlds most attractive nose then you gotta give up something! :lol:

I have a split personality when it comes to earrings, I love my classic diamond solitaires and pearls, but also love Betsy Johnsons "crazy" guns, black roses, arrows, bunnies....all of the weird stuff. I really like most of her stuff, it's jewelry, but not so serious. 

I wear a 7 in rings and a 7 in shoes. Use to be a 6 in shoes :angry: but feet grew during pregnancy.


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## emilylithium (Jun 20, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Okay, next questions:
> 
> Who has pierced ears?
> 
> ...


okay, i don't have pieced ears, so could only drool over the pretties.

i wear size 5 ring. dont usually wear ring though.

shoe size is 5.5. so tiny that I can never find heels that fit right


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## rachelshine (Jun 20, 2014)

Mini vs FS - psh doesn't matter to me!! Tho mini makes it feel like MORE MORE MORE!! 

Ring size - I think I am an 8, but I am getting reaaal into midi rings  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

Earrings - yep pierced, twice in each ear. I like hoops, statement earrings, and also delicate studs. 

Shoes - 8.5!


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## trekkersangel (Jun 20, 2014)

Earrings: yes!!! I wear anything &amp; everything!!!

Ring finger is a 5, middle finger is a 6.

Shoe size 7.5 unless the shoes only come in full sizes (not half sizes). Then I'm an 8!


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## emilylithium (Jun 20, 2014)

as to minis vs full size. i'd be happy to get both as long as I can get more than one use out of it. i think i tend to prefer full size skincare / body products, and mini makeup items to try


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## CurlyTails (Jun 20, 2014)

In the scenario above, I would prefer the minis. As far as mini vs. full size in general, I'm fine with whatever my buddy wants to do . I want her to have fun! I have pierced ears and don't really where rings. My shoe size is 9 1/2 but I'll go to a 10 for flip flops.


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## wadedl (Jun 20, 2014)

Size 11 shoes

Pierced ears now I am obsessing about these nadri earrings I saw on sale at Nordstrom!

http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3592321?categoryid=null

I used to be size 7 rings but I could get me wedding ring off a few days ago, it was like an hourglass shape around my ring  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Lolo22 (Jun 20, 2014)

I don't want my swapster to worry about sizes of things, I'm not picky. If I like it enough to put on my wish list I'd probably be happy with the tiniest dab of it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> if it's something new and fun I'm still up for any form of it. I love pretty much anything and I don't jump around to different products too much. I'm just happy to be here lol


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## cg0112358 (Jun 20, 2014)

I prefer minis unless it is a HG makeup/skincare item just because I can never seem to use FS items up.

Ears: pierced, I don't tend to wear larger earrings and am usually wearing hoops (single hoop when more casual and triple hoop when dressed up). These are my HG dressy hoops, I love them and always get compliments on them (http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-257271/Napier-Silver-Tone-Beaded-Triple-Hoop-Earrings.jsp?ci_mcc=ci&amp;srccode=cii_17588969&amp;cpncode=32-368314760-2&amp;CID=shopping15).

Ring size: 6.5-7.5 depending on finger

Shoe size: 5.5-6 (wide)


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## BSquared (Jun 20, 2014)

Terrible day at work, but did some more shopping for my buddy over lunch so that cheered me up a bit!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I think I'm 75% done at this point. Maybe. If I can resist.

Minis vs full size: either!

Ears: nope, let them close up.

Ring size: 7-7.5 depending on the finger, my wedding ring is a 7.5

shoe size: 8.5-9 depending on brand.


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## DonnaD (Jun 20, 2014)

I just thought of something cosmetics oriented that I want.  Olive Lips lip balm.  It was in an Ipsy bag a month or so ago and I love it.  So, Dear Swap Buddy, if you have one you don't like, I'd be happy to take it off your hands!


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 20, 2014)

I updated my swap list with 4million nail polishes I want to try.  It isn't even all of them.  I'm sure my poor swap buddy thinks I'm nuts.


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## Christa W (Jun 20, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I just thought of something cosmetics oriented that I want. Olive Lips lip balm. It was in an Ipsy bag a month or so ago and I love it. So, Dear Swap Buddy, if you have one you don't like, I'd be happy to take it off your hands!


Omg I want to try them too. Don't think I'd want the Ipsy flavor though... rosemary???


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## DonnaD (Jun 20, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Omg I want to try them too. Don't think I'd want the Ipsy flavor though... rosemary???


It doesn't really have very much of a taste and what taste it has is mild and nice...it smells really good!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 20, 2014)

Mini vs. full size - Either!

Earrings - I have pierced ears but my ears are kind of sensitive and don't like anything that's not stainless steel or silver or something of higher quality.

Ring size - I really have no idea, I used to wear rings all the time and I did the just try them all on technique. Mid range size probably, not small, not big

Shoe size - 9


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## Christa W (Jun 20, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> It doesn't really have very much of a taste and what taste it has is mild and nice...it smells really good!


Hmm.  Interesting.  I want to try the Sweet Fennel one!!


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## jesemiaud (Jun 20, 2014)

wadedl said:


> I have a question if you had an item you wanted coming in your package would you rather get 1full size item that has been opened or 2 minis? The full size contains more product than the two minis and you put it on cotton balls so it has never had fingers dipped or dirty brushes on it.


I'd be fine either way.


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## jesemiaud (Jun 20, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Okay, next questions:
> 
> Who has pierced ears? Yes
> 
> ...


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## SaraP (Jun 20, 2014)

Oh I love earrings but am super duper allergic to nickel! Super duper, like my ears want to fall off after 5 minutes of wearing them!


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## jesemiaud (Jun 20, 2014)

Going on vacation, so I'll be scarce for the next week. I'll have my tablet, so I may lurk, but I hate typing on it, so I probably won't post a lot.


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## valeried44 (Jun 20, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> Going on vacation, so I'll be scarce for the next week. I'll have my tablet, so I may lurk, but I hate typing on it, so I probably won't post a lot.


Have a good time!!


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## chelsealady (Jun 20, 2014)

Minis for the win. I like to try to many different products to commit to a full size.

Ears are pierced. But I like awful in gold.

Ring size 7.

Shoe size- I'll throw out my favorite Dolly Patton line from Steel Magnolia. “In a good shoe, I wear a size six, but a seven feels so good, I buy a size eight.” – Truvy (Dolly Parton), Steel Magnolias. But in truth I wear eight and half.


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## cg0112358 (Jun 20, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> Minis for the win. I like to try to many different products to commit to a full size.
> 
> Ears are pierced. But I like awful in gold.
> 
> ...


^ filmed in my hometown. My sister and I auditioned to be extras but since she didn't want to be in it she threw a tantrum so it didn't happen (she was only around 7 or so at the time and I was 8). I was pretty annoyed... We did get to see Dolly Parton and Julian Roberts at one of the production parties and even had friends who volunteered their homes to house the cast. All in all it was a pretty neat experience for my tiny little home town  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Dashery (Jun 20, 2014)

Definitely minis!

My ears are pierced.

I believe I'm about a 7 in ring sizes.

Shoes: I'm a 7.5. When in doubt, I go with an 8, but only if the shoes aren't flats. The have to be securely attached, like boots or something.


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## heath67013 (Jun 20, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Okay, next questions:
> 
> Who has pierced ears?
> 
> ...


Yes, on the pierced ears.

Size 8 or 9 depending on the finger.

Shoe size 10.


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## msambrosia (Jun 20, 2014)

My ears are pierced, 3 times each. 

Shoes: Size 10, usually in wide width

Rings: Depending on the finger, 8-10.


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## ashleylind (Jun 20, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I just thought of something cosmetics oriented that I want.  Olive Lips lip balm.  It was in an Ipsy bag a month or so ago and I love it.  So, Dear Swap Buddy, if you have one you don't like, I'd be happy to take it off your hands!


I sucked it up and bought the 5-pack after I didn't receive it in my Ipsy bag. I love them!


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## sstich79 (Jun 21, 2014)

Ears: pierced, and I'm always looking for adorable unique little stud earrings to wear to work. I think I mentioned it in my survey, but I am a nurse and I get a lot of head trauma patients who are confused and sometimes combative, and I can't wear anything they can get ahold of and yank! My favorites are usually either sea-related or winged creatures.

Ring: size 8 on the ring finger, which is the only place I wear them... rings feel weird on my other fingers, and I have no idea how people do midi rings! That would drive me absolutely insane, although it looks fun.

Shoes: usually an 8, sometimes sneak into a 7.5.

Minis vs. full-size swatched: either is fine...

...but to add on to this question, there was a question in the Midsummer survey that not many people have ended up adding to their Summerswap pages. In general, would you prefer a collection of minis or a couple of full-sized items, and would you rather have your items each wrapped separately for you to open one at a time, or together so you can have one big TA-DA gift-opening moment?


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 21, 2014)

I'm pretty sure my ears are still pierced? I definitely see the little marks there. I was one of those creepy babies (as my boyfriend puts it) with earrings. Our pediatrician did them! I wore earrings straight through high school then stopped on and off in college. I don't think I've worn them in maybe 2 years.

My earring hole would get really red and hot and then itchy...then kinda crusty (im disgusting.). I'm 90% sure I'm either describing an allergic reaction or maybe the Jcrew Gods are cursing me for snatching them out of the display while another woman was ogling them. Ya snooze ya lose, beezey

Ring - 8, 8.5, 9 depending on the finger. Also depending on how much food I ate  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Mini v Full size : I really love minis!

Shoe : 8.5 or 8.5 wide, it depends.


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## heath67013 (Jun 21, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> I'm pretty sure my ears are still pierced? I definitely see the little marks there. I was one of those creepy babies (as my boyfriend puts it) with earrings. Our pediatrician did them! I wore earrings straight through high school then stopped on and off in college. I don't think I've worn them in maybe 2 years.
> 
> My earring hole would get really red and hot and then itchy...then kinda crusty (im disgusting.). I'm 90% sure I'm either describing an allergic reaction or maybe the Jcrew Gods are cursing me for snatching them out of the display while another woman was ogling them. Ya snooze ya lose, beezey
> 
> ...


This just about killed me. I guess I was a creepy baby with little stud earrings too. Lol. I'm not sure who pierced mine though...


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## jayeme (Jun 21, 2014)

I have pierced ears unless they have grown back together (I haven't worn earrings in over a year), but yeah I don't really wear earrings anymore. I also don't wear rings so I don't even know my rings size. 

Mini v full size swatched: I like mini things, but I also don't mind something that has been swatched/tested in a sanitary way, so I think it would depend on the product.

Collection of minis v a couple of full size items: Well, my favorite thing is minis of pricier stuff I wouldn't buy for myself anyway. That way I get to test out fancy things but not feel guilty if I don't like then that much (I always feel guilty if I spend lots of money on something and don't really use it). In general though, I would prefer 1-2 pricier items to a bunch of cheap drugstore stuff, mainly because if I want something that's cheap I will probably just buy it for myself, but if it's less cheap then I will just sit around wishing i had it but not spending the money and then my desire for it builds up more and more  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Wrapping preference: Individually wrapped would be cool, but I don't mind the other way either.


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## meaganola (Jun 21, 2014)

@usofjessamerica  Yup, that's an allergy.  It's what happens to me no matter what kind of metal is involved, even the surgical-grade stuff.  My grandmother's earrings have *platinum* posts.  My ears still FLIP OUT.

Yay!  Not one but *three* of my Summerswap orders have shipped!  I have a couple of in-store purchases to make over the next week, and then there's wrapping and packing, and then I think I might actually be ready to ship!  (I actually received my Midsummer package from my fairy godmother yesterday, and I can't send my godchild's package yet because I have orders in process for that, so I might go ahead and ship early just because I feel guilty about lagging behind there even though that shipping window hasn't even opened yet, and this shipping window is more than a month away.)

Oh!  So that reminds me of another question:  *Will you be heading out of town for any specific timeframe?*  That is, if we send something that arrives on a particular date, will you be around to open it?  Will someone be around to at least pick it up and put it somewhere safe until your return?  (During the summer, I only go out of town on one day in mid-August, but I don't know which day yet.  And it's just for one Saturday to escape the noise of a beer festival happening across the street from my apartment.)


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## BSquared (Jun 21, 2014)

I can't remember the exact shipping window and I'm too lazy to look, but I will be out of town august 7th-11th. Somebody should be checking my mail though so don't worry too much about it


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 21, 2014)

@@meaganola -- interesting! in high school i used to make my own stud earrings and just use the cheapo kinds from Michaels and some hot glue and I was good to go. But, after that phase, my piercings would flip out. yup, even with my gradma's nicer stuff. I had to take out her earrings halfway through graduation because my ears felt like they were getting so hot.

@@heath67013 i guess we both missed out on that "big" event of turning like, 12, going to the mall with your mom and have some highschooler do it for you at claire's, eh? I'm glad my parents chose to do that because I probably wouldn't have been responsible enough to follow through with the cleaning instructions lol


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## DonnaD (Jun 21, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> In general, would you prefer a collection of minis or a couple of full-sized items, and would you rather have your items each wrapped separately for you to open one at a time, or together so you can have one big TA-DA gift-opening moment?


I'm good either way.  I will say about tracking, though, I'm not going to send a tracking number directly to my buddy.  I don't want them to see the package origination so I'll let my dear, wonderful roadie know so she can keep track of it for her.  I'm all about the ninja.  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## DonnaD (Jun 21, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> I'm pretty sure my ears are still pierced? I definitely see the little marks there. I was *one of those creepy babies (as my boyfriend puts it) with earrings*. Our pediatrician did them! I wore earrings straight through high school then stopped on and off in college. I don't think I've worn them in maybe 2 years.


Ha!  I had my youngest daughter's ears pierced when she was around 16 months old.  Everyone thought she was a boy.  She did really well.  My oldest wanted hers pierced when she was 4-ish.  Both times they were done in the doctor's office by the nurse.  I don't think they would do that today...I'm sure someone would consider it abuse.


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## meaganola (Jun 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I'm good either way.  I will say about tracking, though, I'm not going to send a tracking number directly to my buddy.  I don't want them to see the package origination so I'll let my dear, wonderful roadie know so she can keep track of it for her.  I'm all about the ninja.  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I'm planning on a variation:  One roadie to let my recipient know it's on its way, another to let her know it's almost there, another to let her know ONE MORE DAY, and another to announce that IT'S THERE!  Or maybe some variation of this plan now that I've announced this one in public.

(All of a sudden, Chirpy the Cat -- aka Ed -- has become VERY VERY INTERESTED in the boxes I'm using to keep my exchange buddies' stuff straight.  What a goofball.  He's left them alone for ages, and now he's suddenly *obsessed*.  I really hope there's no cat allergy at play here because there's no way I can decontaminate these boxes at this point.  The contents are fine, but the boxes themselves have been rolled on and pawed at like whoa.)


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Ha! I had my youngest daughter's ears pierced when she was around 16 months old. Everyone thought she was a boy. She did really well. My oldest wanted hers pierced when she was 4-ish. Both times they were done in the doctor's office by the nurse. I don't think they would do that today...I'm sure someone would consider it abuse.


Yeah! My friends and my boyfriend thinks is so crazy that 1. I had them done as a baby 2. Someone in a doctors office did it!


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## Christa W (Jun 21, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> My ears are pierced, 3 times each.


I've got 3 in one ear 4 in the other.  I did it back in high school I thought that was cool and just left it that way.  I don't often wear earrings but it's fun when you have different sized ones from super tiny going to larger. 

First time they were pierced was my 7th birthday.  I wanted to do it for as long as I could remember and then my dad took me, I think more or less to piss of my mom since they had just gotten a divorce.


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## meaganola (Jun 21, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Yeah! My friends and my boyfriend thinks is so crazy that 1. I had them done as a baby 2. Someone in a doctors office did it!


In some places, newborns get it done *in the hospital* before they go home.  I find that kind of weird:  Like the hospital doesn't have enough to do, so they can take the time to do piercings?  But it's a cultural thing, and it actually kind of makes sense because one big problem with getting kids' ears pierced is their unwillingness to take care of their healing ears properly, and adding one more tiny thing to the care routine for a new mom is not a big deal, and another problem is kids playing with their jewelry, and a newborn typically just doesn't do that.

(Certain members of my family were taken aback when my nephews were allowed to get both ears -- right *and* left -- pierced.  That's just not what boys do!  Left ear only!  Except that's what their *dad* did as soon as he turned eighteen since our mom would only let him get one ear pierced, and he wanted them *both* done.  Not a big deal in this part of the family.  I'm fairly certain that their mom will be taking them for their first tattoos when they turn eighteen since her dad did the same for her when *she* turned eighteen, and they got matching tattoos.  My brother might fight her on it because *he* probably wants to take them down, but he might also insist on joining them so he can also have a matching tattoo.)

(As a complete side note, if you saw the video a couple of Halloweens ago of a guy dressed as Captain Hammer, a woman dressed like a bee, and a couple of very blond boys playing a pumpkin that had been turned into a playable Tetris game -- the stem was the joystick -- that was The Bro &amp; Co.  The software programmer who made it is one of their close friends.  Just search for Pumpktris on YouTube if you want to see it in action.  It's the one with over 1.5 million hits.  I had *no clue* that it had happened until I saw it on THE FRONT PAGE OF YAHOO one morning and thought, "Hmm, that guy's forearm tattoos and glasses look famili -- OH MY GOD IT'S MY BROTHER.")


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## Kelli (Jun 21, 2014)

I was 10 months old when my mom had mine done at Meijers lol...it's nice, though, since I didn't wear earrings all through middle school and my holes didn't close. I didn't have to be responsible to care for them myself, since my mom just took care of them like she did everything else for a baby. My sister had hers done at 2 and again at 5 and then yet again as a teenager, because hers kept closing and she wouldn't let my mom take good care of them when first done. (she was a fit thrower lol). I just saw some major debate on facebook about piercing a babies ears being child abuse. I don't agree, but people were REALLY going on that anything that alters the babies body should be considered abuse -including circumsizing boys- it got pretty heated)

As for lots of cheaper items/ 1-2 more expensive, I don't care either way! Same with full size VS mini's. As for wrapping individual vs all together, it's fun unwrapping lots of stuff, but some makeup stuff is awkwardly shaped for wrapping lol. So I don't really care, whatever the person who has me wants to do is fine. 

I think for my person, I will probably do a hybrid. Maybe wrap a couple "special" items seperately and then lump the other items some other way, either wrapping multiple items together or like filling a starlooks box with some items and then wrapping that.


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## jennm149 (Jun 21, 2014)

After a week of work travel heck (started out bad when I was woken up my first morning in Oklahoma by an EARTHQUAKE! -- and ended with my spending an extra night in OKC when my flight was cancelled after I spent 7 hours in the airport, causing me to miss a presentation I was supposed to give in Chicago) -- I'm finally home and getting caught up on MUT.

@dancersmum -- so glad your son is doing better!!

A few items to catch up on for my Swap Buddy:

-  We drink coffee and tea around here.  No so big on herbal teas, but otherwise, we drink pretty much everything.  We use a Keurig during the week and a French press on weekends (we even have a burr grinder), so when I say "everything" I mean it.

-  Jewelry -- I'm not really a big jewelry wearer.  I wear my wedding band and engagement ring everyday, and a ring on my right hand that we bought in Florence when we were there for our 2nd anniversary.  My ears are pierced; I have two pairs of earrings  -- diamond ear studs and a pair of sapphire solitaires I got in Thailand -- that I wear for every day.  I don't wear necklaces much, but I have a sapphire pendant my husband gave my for the first birthday after we met.  And a watch I bought with the first bonus I ever got at work.  I have a couple of Pandora and Pandora-esque bracelets I wear occasionally.  That's about it.  I prefer silver and white gold to yellow gold.

-  I'm indifferent between full-size or minis of the same product, but I'd prefer minis of two different items to a large size of one.

-  I'd rather not get opened/swatched/sanitized items, thanks.

-  Most coveted items -- the YSL glossy stains (I already have Corail Hold-up) are about the only glossy lip product I've ever tried that doesn't feel too "thick" to me.  But I stick to neutral lip colors; I always feel like "here comes Jenn and her lips" when I wear striking lip colors.

-  Most valued item:  I don't have a lot of loyalty to products, but I have been using UD Naked liquid foundation pretty consistently for about a year.  It's one of the few products I've ever re-purchased.

-  Skincare vs Makeup: skincare over anything but nail polish.  When I get ready for work in the morning, I probably apply more products before I get to any actual cosmetics than I do make-up.

- Shoe size: I wear size 10, wide shoes.

Phew.

I came home to find the "big" item for my swap buddy's gift had been delivered, but that's the only thing I've purchased (I was under a deadline with that, so it had to be done last weekend).  Otherwise, I have also been working to get my Midsummer swap items done first.  I expect to kick gift-buying here into full-gear next weekend, once I've got that box on its way.

@@meaganola -- my husband's main hobby is making movies.  I keep telling him to record our cat Cinder chirping and squawking at him to use as monster sounds.  Sounds like Edgar could probably get voice-over work too


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## lastnite629 (Jun 21, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> I'm pretty sure my ears are still pierced? I definitely see the little marks there. I was one of those creepy babies (as my boyfriend puts it) with earrings. Our pediatrician did them! I wore earrings straight through high school then stopped on and off in college. I don't think I've worn them in maybe 2 years.


Add me to the creepy pierced baby list.  Mine were done when I was less than a year old, but I'm not sure who did them. I'm curious now so i'll have to ask my mom. My sister (younger) had so many ear aches that mom never had her ears pierced. She still doesn't have them pierced because she says it scares her to do it.  Yet, She has 4 belly button piercings and a ton of tattoos.  :lol:   Her fiancee is a tattoo artist/piercer so I know that he'll be the one to do the ear piercing if any of their children decide they want their ears pierced. 

 *Will you be heading out of town for any specific timeframe?*  Nope. No plans to go anywhere for awhile.


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## DonnaD (Jun 21, 2014)

I have a bunch of swatched lipsticks and glosses but I swatch them with disposable eye shadow brush pad thingies because I know I'll probably hate most of them since I'm only good with a couple of shades and I think I've gotten maybe only one or two in my sub boxes that I've actually liked enough to keep.  Same with eye shadows.  I use a new, clean pad thingie every time.  

So my buddy will get them with a note that they never touched me directly.


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## Kelli (Jun 21, 2014)

I didn't answer the out of town thing. I have no plans to go out of town, so ship anytime  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> If i did end up going somewhere, there are plenty of other people in my household who would get the mail, so anytime is fine.


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## DonnaD (Jun 21, 2014)

Oh and I'm not going anywhere either.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 21, 2014)

I'm going on vacation the 1st week in August but I have a friend getting my mail for me. You can ship early or late for me if that makes you feel better. I don't mind either way.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 21, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I have a bunch of swatched lipsticks and glosses but I swatch them with disposable eye shadow brush pad thingies because I know I'll probably hate most of them since I'm only good with a couple of shades and I think I've gotten maybe only one or two in my sub boxes that I've actually liked enough to keep. Same with eye shadows. I use a new, clean pad thingie every time.
> 
> So my buddy will get them with a note that they never touched me directly.


Why didn't I ever think of doing that??? So smart, and that way I could always give them to family or friends when they do not work--I have thrown away so many products!


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## jennm149 (Jun 21, 2014)

Traveling - I will be away for work July 14 - 15 and 22 - 25. I know that's before we're supposed to ship, but just in case my buddy is going to ship early. I can't remember what's going on in August, but will check Monday. My husband is home and will get any packages, but I won't be here to post a reveal.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 21, 2014)

My swap buddy can feel free to ship whenever. There is always someone who can bring packages inside.

I'm fine with anything wrapping-wise - whatever is easier for my swap buddy is fine by me  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I think I'm just about done shopping. I put my stuff in the box I plan to ship in just to keep it together, and the box is full! I will need to do some box Tetris for sure.


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## rachelshine (Jun 21, 2014)

I am allllmost done shopping. Waiting on some intel from my spies and then placing an order using BB points and I shall be done I think!


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## wadedl (Jun 21, 2014)

I should be around, my kids go back to school July 23. That my son's birthday and he gets to start at a whole new school. We put him in a charter school that goes until 8th for middle school.

I had my ears pierced by the doctor as baby and have the tiny diamond studs somewhere still. Its the only thing I have from my mom's mom. I got my daughter's ears pierced last year and I made sure to take care of them much longer than required but she kept getting them stuck and they never healed. We finally kept them out because her ear was a bit red and it turned it is was all dirty behind them. She is very sensitive to the way things feel and it turns out she had not touched them since I stopped cleaning them.

I don't like black tea. I like green tea especially if mixed with fruity flavor. When Teavana first opened at Fashion Valley my husband and I used to drink a lot of Fruta Bomba all the time. I will go to Starbucks and just buy a large unsweetened iced green tea on a hot day when I am out. I will make some at home sometimes too, Tazo Zen. I have a Keurig and like medium roast.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 21, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> I am allllmost done shopping. Waiting on some intel from my spies and then placing an order using BB points and I shall be done I think!


Wow!! You have spies and everything!

I think I am finished shopping for all my swaps and am just waiting for the last packages to roll in. I am a horrid wrapper and it took me forever, so I will not fault anyone at all if they do not wrap everything individually. Just have fun with it and do not stress!


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## bonita22 (Jun 21, 2014)

Okay, next questions:

Who has pierced ears? Yes

What size ring do you wear? 6 or 7 depending on finger &amp; weather

Shoe size? 6 generally, 7 for flip flops


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## jesemiaud (Jun 21, 2014)

I will be out of town 7/20-8/1 for work. Someone will be home to c pick up packages, but obviously I won't be able to post a reveal until I get back. I may or may not send my swapee's package before I leave. I've gotten almost everything, now to figure out how I want to package it up.


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## Christa W (Jun 21, 2014)

I won't be going anywhere either.  Kind of makes me sad actually LOL.  My vacation is next weekend.  If you call a weekend back home(WI) to attend a wedding I am not really interested in a vacation.


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## chelsealady (Jun 21, 2014)

Went shopping today. And picked up what I think is the last of my person's present. I've got a couple of things coming in the mail. Then I need to put it all together and make sure that it looks right.

And I'm not going anywhere this summer.


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## meaganola (Jun 21, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> Went shopping today. And picked up what I think is the last of my person's present. I've got a couple of things coming in the mail. Then I need to put it all together and make sure that it looks right.
> 
> And I'm not going anywhere this summer.


Heh.  Every single thing @@chelsealady said!  I might end up picking something up next weekend, but I'm going to plan on that *not* happening, and I think I still have a solid set of goodies.  I'm antsy for the ordered stuff to arrive so I can get everything wrapped up!  And I specifically do not go anywhere in the summer other than the occasional long Saturday out'n'about because HATE SUN AND HEAT, and I would prefer to save my vacation time for the fall and winter.

(As a side note, I got wrapping supplies today.  Um, my recipient had better not open this in direct sunlight!  Holographic metallic tissue paper!  Whoo!)


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## wadedl (Jun 21, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Heh.  Every single thing @@chelsealady said!  I might end up picking something up next weekend, but I'm going to plan on that *not* happening, and I think I still have a solid set of goodies.  I'm antsy for the ordered stuff to arrive so I can get everything wrapped up!  And I specifically do not go anywhere in the summer other than the occasional long Saturday out'n'about because HATE SUN AND HEAT, and I would prefer to save my vacation time for the fall and winter.
> 
> (As a side note, I got wrapping supplies today.  Um, my recipient had better not open this in direct sunlight!  Holographic metallic tissue paper!  Whoo!)


Our real vacation will be in September. My son is going to Scout Camp and my husband is going so he can't really take two week off at once right now. We run a business out of our house. We also like going places on their September break since things are not as busy.


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## Christa W (Jun 21, 2014)

Just want to say I am having a BLAST shopping for my buddy and being a roadie is seriously the coolest thing ever.  I get to watch you guys getting excited too. I've got a ways to go to finish but I have picked up a few things and I am literally bursting with excitement every time I see her post something or get another idea!!!  Thanks for putting this together guys!!!


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## dancersmum (Jun 21, 2014)

Guys - I travel alot...but I should have internet access the whole summer...

I'm on hold for a trip to London in July and then I should have a 3 week trip later in the summer if all goes well...but I have mail coming in as there will be someone around.

I know that my notes have specific packing info as there isn't much point in wrapping unless its being shipped directly to me (the commercial place I use for shipping consolidation will unwrap things if it is sent to them).

I having a great time doing the shopping and am so excited as a few of the packages arrived this week...


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## cobainrls (Jun 21, 2014)

I dont plan on going anywhere this summer. My husband is in Pensacola Florida right now on the beach with his family. I am so jealous! We couldn't afford to board the dogs for 10 days so I had to stay here. My dog has been having seizures since he has been gone because he is so attached and his routine is messed up.so ready for the hubs to be home.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 21, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I dont plan on going anywhere this summer. My husband is in Pensacola Florida right now on the beach with his family. I am so jealous! We couldn't afford to board the dogs for 10 days so I had to stay here. My dog has been having seizures since he has been gone because he is so attached and his routine is messed up.so ready for the hubs to be home.


Aww, poor thing!


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## valeried44 (Jun 21, 2014)

As of right now, I don't have any plans to be out of town this summer.  As far as the question about getting 1-2 larger items or several smaller items - I really don't have a preference.  Truly.  None whatsoever.  

@@cobainrls  I'm sorry, that's terrible for both you and your dog.  Hope things get better!


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## jayeme (Jun 21, 2014)

I'm not planning to be out of town for more than a few days at a time, so mailing whenever is fine -- I live in an apartment complex with tiny locked mailboxes anyway, so a package bigger than a birchbox will get held at the post office until I pick it up. (But, I do need to know through a roadie what the tracking is, because they don't always leave notification even when tracking says notification was left....)


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## jocedun (Jun 22, 2014)

Phew, just came back from a 3 week vacation and I feel soooooo out of the loop. My poor swapbuddy probably thinks I dropped off of the face of the earth. But alas, I am alive. 

To my swap buddy:

- I'll be around for the rest of the summer, feel free to ship whenever you'd like

- I think the answers to my questions will guide you pretty well, but feel free to ask me questions through the roadie (as I probably won't be super active in this thread)

- One thing I totally forgot to say anywhere is that I'd LOVE for you to send me a postcard from wherever you are (I collect them and I am working on a wall collage)

As for my recipient, I've already been scouring Sephora for the perfect little gifts (just based on her wishlist). :sunshine:  Since the budget isn't super high, I want to focus on lots of little, quality items, instead of just one big item. I hope they like that... personally, I enjoy quantity and I love opening a present full of lots of little things.


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## ashleylind (Jun 22, 2014)

I'm not going anywhere this summer, so send whenever.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jun 23, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Summerswap 2014
> 
> Think of SUMMERSWAP 2014 as a great big festival where we all get together for fun and sharing in our common LOVE  :luv:  of makeup in the style of a Secret Santa (Stealthy, stalking, ninja h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  :santa:  like Santas, so we can each surprise our giftee!).
> 
> ...


Ladies,  the reveal is scheduled for July 27th - August 8th.  As mentioned in the guidelines, that is the time when everyone should be sending their packages to arrive, *NO SOONER*. The purpose of having an established timeline for the reveal is so that we can get our gifts around the same time and all experience the same amount of anticipation and excitement as everyone else!

It's one thing if you are going to be out of town and need to send sooner or possibly later (you need to let me know) but everyone needs to follow the timeline! 

If you have any issues with this, you can PM me. 

Thanks, Ladies!!


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## button6004 (Jun 23, 2014)

I got a couple of small things for my swap buddy this weekend, so its slowly but surely coming together.  I need to pick up one full size item I have in mind and poke around some more.  This is harder than I thought! But fun!


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## dotybird (Jun 23, 2014)

I will be away from August 2-9. I gave my home address as the shipping but perhaps I should update it to my work address. Maybe I could give it to my person via a roadie. I will be 9 months pregnant then so I would rather not have to schlep to the post office to pick anything up but my work will hold onto it for me until I get back from vacation.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 23, 2014)

dotybird said:


> I will be away from August 2-9. I gave my home address as the shipping but perhaps I should update it to my work address. Maybe I could give it to my person via a roadie. I will be 9 months pregnant then so I would rather not have to schlep to the post office to pick anything up but my work will hold onto it for me until I get back from vacation.


Work it out with Babs! That way we can make sure all the arrangements are properly made.

Yay congrats  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 23, 2014)

My vacation starts this Saturday (on my birthday! whohoo!!). Not planning anything other a couple 3 day weekends this summer.  I should be around.


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## tulosai (Jun 23, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Oh!  So that reminds me of another question:  *Will you be heading out of town for any specific timeframe?*  That is, if we send something that arrives on a particular date, will you be around to open it?  Will someone be around to at least pick it up and put it somewhere safe until your return?


I will be out of town July 21-29. However, a package that gets to me during that time frame will be safe. I just won't get it until I am back.  I am not fussed about when my person ships.



Christa W said:


> First time they were pierced was my 7th birthday.  I wanted to do it for as long as I could remember and then my dad took me, I think more or less to piss of my mom since they had just gotten a divorce.


My dad wouldn't let me get them pierced until I was sixteen. No joke. My whole family is weird and was against it (other than my mom) but a huge perk of the whole thing is that on my dad's side I was the first person to have pierced ears in like 3 generations, but before that some people had pierced ears and there were all these beautiful and actually kind of valuable earrings sitting around that were theirs that I immediately inherited.


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## Jac13 (Jun 23, 2014)

Hello Ladies.. I hope everyone is enjoying there day thus far. I will be around this summer. I only have a few weekend trips planned but I will have someone picking up the my mail. I will take my last weekend trip at end of July. So no worries.

Let's see... I have my ear pierces since I was a baby or close to. I wear a size 8 shoe. I think my ring size is a 6.


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## button6004 (Jun 23, 2014)

YAY I just ordered a few treats for my swap buddy! I am so excited! I found a couple of things I hope she will really dig.


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## emilylithium (Jun 23, 2014)

wow, everyone is so on top of their game! I have only made a few small purchases so far, and haven't decided on the bigger surprises yet. Any other fellow procrastinators out there?


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## SaraP (Jun 23, 2014)

Not a procrastinator but I'm a big waffler!! 

*I've been playing will she like this for days!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 23, 2014)

I wouldn't call it procrastination, I'd call it waiting for the best deal! But yeah I'm in that boat, I have a ton of things already picked out, but haven't actually spent any of my $25 yet. I will soon though!


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 23, 2014)

emilylithium said:


> wow, everyone is so on top of their game! I have only made a few small purchases so far, and haven't decided on the bigger surprises yet. Any other fellow procrastinators out there?


I am sort of, I have a cart loaded with what I'm planning to buy I just need to pull the trigger.


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## cobainrls (Jun 23, 2014)

I have swapped for several things! They are just little things but, things I think she will like. I just have to decide what to get her for the big item. Hmmm...decisions decisions. I think I may wait to see if any of her wish list items go on sale so I can get her more.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 23, 2014)

I've gotten a lot of things with gift cards, points, etc. &amp; have all that done, but I still need to spend the actual $25.  And I'd like to make something for my swapee &amp; get a few treats too.  I'm still trying to decide how I want the whole thing laid out.  I'm glad we have until the end of July to get it all done.  I'll probably use every second of that time to get it all ready.


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## SaraP (Jun 23, 2014)

I'm going to try to make something she likes...try is the key word! I'm glad to have the extra time to see if I can make something worthy of gifting!


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## sstich79 (Jun 23, 2014)

I'm procrastinating on choosing the main item... and watching for good sales! Got together a lot of smaller things, thinking about the presentation and some crafting. (I just have to be careful about procrastinating too long, because I'm really good at doing that... sigh.)


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 23, 2014)

sarap said:


> I'm going to try to make something she likes...try is the key word! I'm glad to have the extra time to see if I can make something worthy of gifting!


Yep I've got some master plans to make something! It's going to be a fun experiment, mwahahahaha!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 23, 2014)

I'm also working on a craft and presentation. I'm not sure whether I want to separate things out or just make a big box of fun.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 23, 2014)

i'm pretty sure i'm done shopping? but who knows, really! I told myself that everything has to fit into a certain sized box and i'm pretty darn close to pushing that limit.


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## bonita22 (Jun 23, 2014)

I think I'm done shopping. I just have to find a nice extra and decide how to wrap everything.

I might be taking off for my anniversary sometime in July but it's not set in stone yet. My brother is always home so no worries if I'm not home.


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## Christa W (Jun 23, 2014)

I am glad we aren't mailing quite yet I may have time to get her something really awesome and unexpected. I can't wait for reveals seriously I'm literally giggling with excitement every time I think of something else or find another little item.


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## Kelli (Jun 23, 2014)

I haven't actually bought anything yet. I have online carts filled and just can't do it LOL I'm always afraid that I'll find something even better, so I wait. I have an amazon order all ready to go and hadn't placed it. Was about to today and then decided I didn't think she'd like one item as much as I originally thought, so I am now attempting to find a similarly priced item for her that I think she'd like more haha.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 23, 2014)

I forgot that I still need to pick up a little something from my favorite store to include in the box! Serious box Tetris will be in my future.


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## Kelli (Jun 23, 2014)

Yay! I placed the amazon order! I found something to replace the item I was doubting and submitted before I could change my mind. There is a bit of relief knowing I have some things on their way.


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## Dashery (Jun 23, 2014)

I'm still shopping and crafting! Haha  :lol:


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## Jac13 (Jun 23, 2014)

I am still trying to decide what items I want to buy. I am still trying to stalk my person to get a feel of their likes. Plus I want to mail my FGC her gift.


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## BSquared (Jun 23, 2014)

I'm still shopping too! Mostly done, 2 orders coming in tomorrow but there's still a few smaller things I need to pick up. We've still got time and if I can't mail early.....a "few things" may turn into like 5-6 things.


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## ashleylind (Jun 23, 2014)

I still haven't spent any of my $25, but I've done several swaps and started game-planning what local goodies I want to include. I have the Birchbox wish list made, but I keep adding and subtracting things. Decisions are hard!


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## dotybird (Jun 24, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Work it out with Babs! That way we can make sure all the arrangements are properly made.
> 
> Yay congrats  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Thanks! I will work it out with Babs!


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## button6004 (Jun 24, 2014)

Yesterday was just a lucky day because as I was running errands after work I literally stumbled upon (as in, walked into the endcap, I'm terribly clumsy sometimes) a neat item to add to my gift! It's something from a company I've tried before, but its a different item that seems to hit on something my buddy would like.  SCORE! I've spent nearly all of my $25, just one more thing to pick up and then I've got some little things to pick up.


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## sstich79 (Jun 24, 2014)

Oh, man, is anyone having a hard time not shopping for themselves during this? I need to stop looking at the sale emails from my favorite places... like today, Butter London's "last orders" section is on clearance, and a couple of things from my wish list are on there... but I shouldn't buy them because my girl might have gone that route! Argh.

_ETA: What puppymomofthree said! Don't need 'em, won't be bummed if I don't get 'em._  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 24, 2014)

I know the feeling, I think I now have more BL polishes than any other brand, but Brummie is calling my name! I must be good, I already have overbought and have some of them on my trade list, and more that probably will end up there. Ok, I will be good swap buddy, I promise, and I will not be at all upset if there is no BL in my package--I have so many already!


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## button6004 (Jun 24, 2014)

OH MAN. Cake Hole is calling my name.  I am such a neon pink girl.

I WILL BE GOOD.  I WILL NOT BUY THE POLISHES.


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## dancersmum (Jun 24, 2014)

All done my shopping...just waiting for things to arrive...have something to put together...

Some items won't arrive for a couple of weeks but I'm some should arrive this week.  I am hoping that they are as cool as they are in my head lol

Need to ensure that all can be packaged safely and that it will all fix in the designated box!


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## dancersmum (Jun 24, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> I know the feeling, I think I now have more BL polishes than any other brand, but Brummie is calling my name! I must be good, I already have overbought and have some of them on my trade list, and more that probably will end up there. Ok, I will be good swap buddy, I promise, and I will not be at all upset if there is no BL in my package--I have so many already!


Lol Brummie....special to me - as that is where we went to have my son's surgery!  Brummie is slang for Birmingham or for someone that comes from Birmingham, England   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I love how they often use Brit slang for their names.  My daughter enjoys BL but I'm too lazy to do my nails!


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## marigoldsue (Jun 24, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Oh, man, is anyone having a hard time not shopping for themselves during this? I need to stop looking at the sale emails from my favorite places... like today, Butter London's "last orders" section is on clearance, and a couple of things from my wish list are on there... but I shouldn't buy them because my girl might have gone that route! Argh.
> 
> _ETA: What puppymomofthree said! Don't need 'em, won't be bummed if I don't get 'em._  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Oh, I shouldn't have looked.  Those colored mascaras have captured my interest.  As has the pistol pink cream shadow and several of the polish colors.  I rarely paint my own nails, but oh pretty colors!


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## Christa W (Jun 24, 2014)

I haven't shopped for myself while shopping for my buddy since I'm on a no buy BUT I could not help myself on Sunday night Zoya had spend $10 get Sooki for free plus free shipping so I grabbed Godiva and nabbed Sooki!!!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 24, 2014)

I've been good about not buying stuff on my list or that I have mentioned wanting to try in case my person has been stalking. It's actually been very helpful for the low-buy!


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## jennm149 (Jun 24, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Oh, I shouldn't have looked.  Those colored mascaras have captured my interest.  As has the pistol pink cream shadow and several of the polish colors.  I rarely paint my own nails, but oh pretty colors!


I have the pink and turquoise mascaras.  I haven't tried the pink yet, but I love the turquoise!  I don't usually wear eye shadow on the weekend, but with a bit of liner and colored mascara, I feel I've at least made an effort.


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## rachelshine (Jun 24, 2014)

Zomg, why did I look at the BL sale!! Ughhh I vannnt you Dodgy Barnett, Trustafarian, &amp; Brummie


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## marigoldsue (Jun 24, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> I have the pink and turquoise mascaras.  I haven't tried the pink yet, but I love the turquoise!  I don't usually wear eye shadow on the weekend, but with a bit of liner and colored mascara, I feel I've at least made an effort.


I missed the turqouise mascara, it is out now.  I am not sure I am brave enough for the pink.  But I did notice a few things that would be good for my swap buddy and I think I could buy myself the pink cream shadow, as I don't think that would be something my buddy would have picked out for me.  But the shipping cost is making me pause.  I have never ordered from BL before.  Do they have any promos for free shipping or first time orders?


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## jennm149 (Jun 24, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> I missed the turqouise mascara, it is out now.  I am not sure I am brave enough for the pink.  But I did notice a few things that would be good for my swap buddy and I think I could buy myself the pink cream shadow, as I don't think that would be something my buddy would have picked out for me.  But the shipping cost is making me pause.  I have never ordered from BL before.  Do they have any promos for free shipping or first time orders?


BL is usually free shipping over $50.  I usually just "save up" orders for their products until they have some good deal or special I want, and usually have at least $50 worth of items to buy.  I highly recommend their Nail Foundation base coat and the PDQ top coat.  The Nail Foundation is a nice neutral color for me, so sometimes, I'll just wear that without any polish.  RetailMeNot shows a promo code -- SEVENTEEN20 -- as being 20% off sitewide.  That might help offset the shipping charge.  Haven't tried it myself, though.


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## Christa W (Jun 24, 2014)

FYI anybody interested in any shopping for Zoyas for their Summerswap buddy they are selling "patriotic trios" for $15 plus free shipping.  There are 4 sets consisting of different red, white and blue combos including one pixie dust one.


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## SaraP (Jun 24, 2014)

I've been good about not purchasing things for myself, but I know I've over done it with the, but my gal might like something in these 10 Sample Society boxes! Ugh 50 samples is sounding overwhelming!

I have $$ at Neiman Marcus or Bergdorf Goodman and I'm trying my best not to buy a pen eyeliner, since I noted I'd like to try one on my ss post...but can't seem to pin down something I "need" to restock.


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## rachelshine (Jun 24, 2014)

@@SaraP I am in the other boat wishing I *had* ordered some of those SS boxes!! My sample stash has definitely dwindled from my Circular Swaps &amp; mega trading I've been doing lately. Whoops!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 24, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @@SaraP I am in the other boat wishing I *had* ordered some of those SS boxes!! My sample stash has definitely dwindled from my Circular Swaps &amp; mega trading I've been doing lately. Whoops!


I'm glad that I ordered the SS boxes because my stash was practically nonexistent. Plus, I couldn't resist the potential for a ton of skincare samples - love them!


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## tulosai (Jun 24, 2014)

Christa W said:


> FYI anybody interested in any shopping for Zoyas for their Summerswap buddy they are selling "patriotic trios" for $15 plus free shipping.  There are 4 sets consisting of different red, white and blue combos including one pixie dust one.


I LOVE Sooki and all of the patriotic trios but I am making myself resist... it is HARD. I did win one of the pink polishes yesterday though from their contest they were having on their FB page! First time ever winning a thing on FB, it made me feel SUPER accomplished.


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## Jac13 (Jun 24, 2014)

Christa W said:


> I haven't shopped for myself while shopping for my buddy since I'm on a no buy BUT I could not help myself on Sunday night Zoya had spend $10 get Sooki for free plus free shipping so I grabbed Godiva and nabbed Sooki!!!


I was so bummed that I missed that sale.  I already have Godiva; it is so pretty.  I don't have  Sooki and plus I could have finally picked up Bing.  Oh well....until the next sale.


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## Jac13 (Jun 24, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Oh, man, is anyone having a hard time not shopping for themselves during this? I need to stop looking at the sale emails from my favorite places... like today, Butter London's "last orders" section is on clearance, and a couple of things from my wish list are on there... but I shouldn't buy them because my girl might have gone that route! Argh.
> 
> _ETA: What puppymomofthree said! Don't need 'em, won't be bummed if I don't get 'em._  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I have been behaving.  Most of the things I have brought have been items I am pretty sure I will not receive.  I have been mostly shopping for clothes and cute earrings.  This season I am really loving maxi dresses.


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## Christa W (Jun 24, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> I was so bummed that I missed that sale. I already have Godiva; it is so pretty. I don't have Sooki and plus I could have finally picked up Bing. Oh well....until the next sale.


I ordered it on my cell and was in a hurry. I totally forgot about like 6 shades I would have gotten. I got Godiva too for a nail art for my mom to wear to my cousins wedding but like a dummy I spaced out the wedding is THIS weekend and there's no way Zoya is getting it to me by Friday 6 am when I'm leaving. Oh well she will wear the dress again I hope. I'm glad I'm getting it too though.


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## Christa W (Jun 24, 2014)

Oh and dear swap buddy I will not be sending you my kitty because my boyfriend fell for him and he's made his place here and I get to keep him!!! I will make sure you get something special instead.

Also mobile posting drives me insane!!! I fixes the pic though.


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## meaganola (Jun 24, 2014)

Oh! Another blue kitty in the MUT family! Oscar sends him frantic licks as a welcome!


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## Christa W (Jun 24, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Oh! Another blue kitty in the MUT family! Oscar sends him frantic licks as a welcome!


Is yours noisy??? This cat yaks non stop. My cat Oscar is all black. Named him Oscar becuse he used to hang out in garbage cans. We named my blue Sergei after Russian hockey player Sergei Federov.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 24, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Is yours noisy??? This cat yaks non stop. My cat Oscar is all black. Named him Oscar becuse he used to hang out in garbage cans. We named my blue Sergei after Russian hockey player Sergei Federov.


I had a noisy black and white cat. She would go around the house meowing all day. I think she was having a conversation with herself.


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## LolaJay (Jun 24, 2014)

My cat is noisy, but he's also a spoiled brat lol. When he wants something he will let you know!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 24, 2014)

OMG what a cute kitty!!!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 24, 2014)

Ok another question as I try to refine my theme....

What is your favorite thing about summer?

Mine is feeling the warm sun on my skin, flowers!!!! and daytime margaritas (not that I don't have those in the winter  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />).


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## Christa W (Jun 24, 2014)

I think I need a reality show called 9 Cats and Counting...

Favorite thing about summer??! Well since moving to Florida 7 years ago my thoughts on summer have changed... Prior to that it was sweet corn and family coming to visit. There as always someone renting a cottage or staying in town. We'd go get pontoon boats and life was simple. I miss those days. Now my favorite thing about summer is that fall is almost here and the high school across the street is empty so the traffic isn't so bad.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 24, 2014)

Favorite thing about summer: Summer rain! The first summer I spent living in San Diego in college and it rained like every week that summer. My bf likes to joke that I brought the rain because it had never rained that much before I moved down there. I also enjoy making summery cocktails, and cold beers are always great. I also love music festivals but there was no extra money or time this year to plan for one.


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## valeried44 (Jun 24, 2014)

My favorite things about summer...  garden-fresh veggies, grilling, the smell of mowed hay, calves frolicking in the pastures, watching the apples on the trees grow, and spending time at camp and with family.  It's hard to believe I grew up a city girl, but since I've moved to the country 13 yrs ago with my husband, I've really grown accustomed to the quiet and simple life.  I miss being so close to everything, but there is something about having privacy and not having all the noise that comes along with living in the city.


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## BSquared (Jun 24, 2014)

Favorite thing about summer: it sounds dumb, but LEAVES! I hate when the trees are naked and look dead, it's so depressing. Oh, and patio drinking! Lovveeeee me a good bar/restaurant with a patio! It's my favorite place to be!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 24, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Ok another question as I try to refine my theme....
> 
> What is your favorite thing about summer?
> 
> Mine is feeling the warm sun on my skin, flowers!!!! and daytime margaritas (not that I don't have those in the winter  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />).


NOTHING. just kidding. i like cool summer days where its nice enough to sit outside and not turn into a puddle. i like that i can wear dresses and maxi skirts! summery cocktails (well, i guess any season is a good season for a good cocktail!) oh, and farmers markets and grilling. i'm definitely not a warm-weather person, honestly. humidity kills me.


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## valeried44 (Jun 24, 2014)

I'm not a fan of humidity either.  Ugh.  I can handle 85 when the humidity is low, but when the humidity jumps, I can't stand 65.  And my hair - don't get me started about what it does to that...    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I don't know what I'd do with out air conditioning!


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## dancersmum (Jun 24, 2014)

My fav thing about summer is hanging out with the kids.  Every year my husband and I take time off work and we end up usually escaping the oppressive heat here and going somewhere for some serious outdoor quality time.  When they were little and my family still had a little house in Vancouver BC we would head over there and spend tonnes of time in the parks.  Nowadays we are heading to winter as much as we can so we head down to the southern hemisphere to get away from the crazy humidity and heat here.


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## Kelli (Jun 24, 2014)

Traveling is my favorite thing about summer (though I don't get to travel to as far away of places as I used to). In Michigan the weather is crummy a good chunk of the year, so summer is the only time to really just take off on little road trips to where ever. I also LOVE amusement parks!

A friend of mine in another state and I used to meet up every summer to see one of our favorite bands (Dot Dot Dot) at a festival halfway between us. Unfortunately, they broke up last year...though we did get to see them one last time at the festival last year! It was not too long before their final show.

I'm not a huge fan of extreme weather...hot or cold. I'll take any suggestions of somewhere to move where it's like 65 degrees year round  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jun 24, 2014)

@ChristaW  Oscar isn't chatty, but he lets you know what he expects in no uncertain terms, which is only to be expected because I named him after Oscar Wilde (gray -&gt; Dorian Gray -&gt; Oscar Wilde).  He's sometimes referred to as Oscar the B*tch because you *will* know what he thinks, even if he doesn't express it with sound (he's currently hiding under the couch because IT IS TOO WARM IN HERE, HUMAN, AND IT IS COOLER WHERE IT IS DARK).  I have color-coded cats:  Edgar's equation is black -&gt; The Black Cat -&gt; Edgar Allan Poe.  Ed can't meow.  He just kind of chirps, trills, and coos.

My favorite thing about summer:  The school supply displays.  That's pretty much it.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 24, 2014)

We were talking about this pages back but @@rachelshine, did you see Hello Waffles announced on Facebook that she ordered more palettes and she's bringing back the Musicians collection palette at the end of July/early August!? I saw that and immediately thought of you! I'm so excited, too bad it won't be in time for Summerswap.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I am totally getting one though.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 24, 2014)

My favorite thing about summer is spending time in the pool. A pool float, a magazine, and a frosty drink and I'm set!


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## trekkersangel (Jun 24, 2014)

Summer! I love having my kids home with me, going to the pool with them, &amp; just playing with them. I love my yard: gardening, mowing, weeding, planting, ROSES! I love when my rose plants bloom! Night games! All summer long we invite all the kids/teens over to our backyard every Friday night for a couple hours to play games like kick the can &amp; capture the flag! We always end with Popsicles or root beer floats or snow cones! I just love summer &amp; everything that goes with it!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 24, 2014)

oh other favorite thing about summer -- crazy good winter clothes sales. northface boots for $50 originally $300? hell yes. i guess moving to TN means i wont need those anymore..but still! the sentiment still stands.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 24, 2014)

Things got serious tonight . . . I broke out the Mod Podge!


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## Dashery (Jun 24, 2014)

curlytails said:


> Things got serious tonight . . . I broke out the Mod Podge!


Next comes the E6000, friend. You'll be gluing cars together.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 24, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Next comes the E6000, friend. You'll be gluing cars together.


I think I need this in my life  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## rachelshine (Jun 24, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> oh other favorite thing about summer -- crazy good winter clothes sales. northface boots for $50 originally $300? hell yes. i guess moving to TN means i wont need those anymore..but still! the sentiment still stands.


Yes, but now you get to wear COWBOY BOOTS!!! I lovvvve cowboy boots so hard. I bought a pair of Ariats on Ebay for like $70, one of my happiest days when I won that auction. 

As for travel - I am not going to be traveling during shipping period, but I am going to NYC this weekend WOOHOO!! I kiiiinda want to go to the Bite Lab and make myself a fancy pants lipstick.


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## SaraP (Jun 24, 2014)

Best thing about summer is Beach and BBQ's!


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## Dashery (Jun 25, 2014)

Favorite thing about Summer?

Everything. Literally everything. Those lesser seasons can go fall off a cliff.

I love the sun, the beach, the fact that's it's light out until like nine million pm. I love the pool, the pretty plants and trees, and butterflies. In fact, I can't find a single thing about summer that I _don't _like. I love it all!


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## dancersmum (Jun 25, 2014)

@

Totally with you on the winter deals in summer lol - I always buy ski equipment &amp; clothes for the kids in the middle of summer. Right now I'm hunting for boots for my older son as his feet keep growing. Love the crazy deals when you are a contrarian shopper  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Best of luck with your move!

Summer here means 96% humidity...and you start sweating the minute you step out of the shower...blah...I hate being sweaty all the time. I loved summer in North America. And as a kid my fav thing was hearing the icecream truck and rushing outside to get a popsicle or other icy treat...and endless hours of reading after bicycle trips to the library.


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## tgooberbutt (Jun 25, 2014)

Best thing about summer are in season heirloom tomatoes! !!

And I just have to brag, I picked up the bulk of my summer swap buddy's present  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> . I'm brilliant if I do say so myself  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I can't wait for her to see it!!!


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## tgooberbutt (Jun 25, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> As for travel - I am not going to be traveling during shipping period, but I am going to NYC this weekend WOOHOO!! I kiiiinda want to go to the Bite Lab and make myself a fancy pants lipstick.


J crew's sample sale runs through the Sunday in the garment district. And i think dolce and gabbing's and rag and bones might still be on through this weekend too. Just Google "nyc sample sale dealfeed" and you'll find a few sites that consolidate sample sale listings. One of my must do's before any nyc trip!!!


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## Babs28 (Jun 25, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> As for travel - I am not going to be traveling during shipping period, but I am going to NYC this weekend WOOHOO!! *I kiiiinda want to go to the Bite Lab and make myself a fancy pants lipstick. &lt;------ DO IT!!!!*


@rachelshine How long will you be in the city for? What are you doing while you are there?  We coulda met up for lunch/brunch or dinner!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   I'm always game for hanging out there!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  



tgooberbutt said:


> Just Google "nyc sample sale dealfeed" and you'll find a few sites that consolidate sample sale listings. One of my must do's before any nyc trip!!!


@tgooberbutt Absolutely!!  I love sample sales!!  When are you coming to NYC next?   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## button6004 (Jun 25, 2014)

my cats are both talkers.  Cheyenne (the one in my avatar) is ALWAYS meowing. She woke me up very early this morning headbutting me and meowing in my face for breakfast.  When that didnt work, she sent in the big guns- her sister, Ada, who meows SO loudly- MEOW MEOW- MOM WAKE UP!

I love hot dogs in the summer, and sunshine.  And beachy smells.


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## meaganola (Jun 25, 2014)

@@button6004 I used to have a girlkitty named Ada who was loud and plaintive! She would sit in the middle of the apartment and just cry. She sounded so sad and lonesome that I would call her Hank. As in Williams.


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## sstich79 (Jun 25, 2014)

My absolute favorite thing about summer? Lightning bugs. (Or fireflies, if you must.) Nothing makes me happier than seeing that first little glowing butt flying around on an early summer evening. I'm pretty sure I could never live in a place that doesn't have lightning bugs.


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## button6004 (Jun 25, 2014)

meaganola said:


> @@button6004 I used to have a girlkitty named Ada who was loud and plaintive! She would sit in the middle of the apartment and just cry. She sounded so sad and lonesome that I would call her Hank. As in Williams.


LOL both of mine are just so vocal.  All I have to say is ADA BUGGGGGG and I'll hear "ROWR ROWR!" from wherever she is.  She's my little princess. We named her after the ADA- she is partially blind.


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## meaganola (Jun 25, 2014)

button6004 said:


> LOL both of mine are just so vocal. All I have to say is ADA BUGGGGGG and I'll hear "ROWR ROWR!" from wherever she is. She's my little princess. We named her after the ADA- she is partially blind.


Aww, what a sweetie! Mine was named after Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer, because she *loved* sitting on my computer and its monitor. This was back in '97, so both were massive with plenty of room for kitties to sprawl on!


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 25, 2014)

One of my mother's cats has a meow that sounds like NOW.  When she gets insistent about something I hear NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW over the phone as we talk.


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## LolaJay (Jun 25, 2014)

My favorite things about summer - staying up late and sleeping in (I sound like a kid), and I live for the perfect 70 degree, non humid days that we get once in awhile! I also love that I can wear leggings and tank tops most days - I need to be comfortable when it's hot out. AND!! Pina Coladas :smilehappyyes: I still have yet to find any as good as in Jamaica, though!


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## lastnite629 (Jun 25, 2014)

Favorite thing about summer?

Uh...when it's over.  lol I'm more of a fall/winter gal.


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## Christa W (Jun 25, 2014)

tgooberbutt said:


> J crew's sample sale runs through the Sunday in the garment district. And i think dolce and gabbing's and rag and bones might still be on through this weekend too. Just Google "nyc sample sale dealfeed" and you'll find a few sites that consolidate sample sale listings. One of my must do's before any nyc trip!!!


I used to work for J Crew in thier call center in Virginia when I was just out of high school (1995). They had warehouse/sample sales for the employees and it was awesome.


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 25, 2014)

Favorite thing about summer: My burf-day on Saturday! :wizard:

I love everything about summer!


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## Jac13 (Jun 25, 2014)

I love that summer months are laid back. I feel more carefree and I enjoy the free concerts and festivals.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 25, 2014)

Favorite thing about summer is fresh fruit and the extended hours of daylight.  I think I have SADS.  This winter was brutal on me.  Considering relocating to Florida next year.

Travel plans:  I may be heading out of town for a week on July 26.  As this could hit the shipping window, once my plans are firmed up I will send a message through the roadie that my swap buddy used to contact me earlier. 

On another front, I am excited that some really good trades are falling in to place.  Was very excited to find some things that would be perfect for my buddy!  And I am in high gear shopping wise.  I just need to know when to stop, so I don't become a "Michael".  I have too many gift cards and store credits that are just screaming "USE ME".


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## rachelshine (Jun 25, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @rachelshine How long will you be in the city for? What are you doing while you are there?  We coulda met up for lunch/brunch or dinner!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   I'm always game for hanging out there!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> @tgooberbutt Absolutely!!  I love sample sales!!  When are you coming to NYC next?   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I am doing such a quick trip, it was so last minuted, booked a few days ago! I get in Friday around 5PM (that'll be a fun ride in from JFK right?!) and leave Monday AM!! I wish I had more time, I just needed an escape from the Phoenix heat and wanted to see my girlfriends. Next time??! I am hoping to get back out there hopefully in August/Sept.


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## jennm149 (Jun 25, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> I am doing such a quick trip, it was so last minuted, booked a few days ago! I get in Friday around 5PM (that'll be a fun ride in from JFK right?!) and leave Monday AM!! I wish I had more time, I just needed an escape from the Phoenix heat and wanted to see my girlfriends. Next time??! I am hoping to get back out there hopefully in August/Sept.


I know Arizona is hot, but this seems like a case of "out of the frying pan and into the pot of simmering water." 

If it's not obvious from that, my favorite thing about summer is that it turns into autumn.

Have fun!!


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## tgooberbutt (Jun 25, 2014)

I don't have a firm day/period, but I was planning on something in Mid-Aug. I didn't know you were in NYC?! I definitely PM you before I head out there!


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## Christa W (Jun 25, 2014)

I'm amending my favorite thing about summer. It's Summerswap!!!


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## lastnite629 (Jun 26, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Favorite thing about summer: My burf-day on Saturday! :wizard:
> 
> I love everything about summer!


Happy Birthday!  Mine is on Sunday!


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## dancersmum (Jun 26, 2014)

@@lastnite629 @@Bizgirlva - Happy Birthday for this week!!!


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## Kelli (Jun 26, 2014)

I was just reminded of another favorite thing about summer: BUBBLES!!! Yes, we use them year round, but they are just so summery lol. I just had to blow bubbles for two of my nieces and my nephew. &lt;3

I also love sidewalk chalk with the kids I babysit or the nieces/nephew. We grew up in the country, so no sidewalk to use it on, but now we live in the "city" and have sidewalk and a garage with a cement parking pad, so we sidewalk chalk it up all summer!


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 26, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> Happy Birthday!  Mine is on Sunday!


Happy B-day!!



dancersmum said:


> @@lastnite629 @@Bizgirlva - Happy Birthday for this week!!!


Thanks!


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## wadedl (Jun 26, 2014)

Favorite thing about summer is going to the beach and the long days. When I was growing up we would go to Disneyland every summer. Some of the best times were when we would have house guest from Mexico and they would take us to all the SoCal attractions in exchange for room board and my parents driving them everywhere. They would come ever few years for new wardrobes for their whole family.


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## Christa W (Jun 26, 2014)

I just thought of something else cool to give my Swap buddy!  How on EARTH do you expect me to keep quiet for another entire month!!!!  (rubs hands together like Mr. Burns)  I guess that just give me more time to make it more epic!!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 26, 2014)

Christa W said:


> I just thought of something else cool to give my Swap buddy!  How on EARTH do you expect me to keep quiet for another entire month!!!!  (rubs hands together like Mr. Burns)  I guess that just give me more time to make it more epic!!


Excellent!


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## CurlyTails (Jun 26, 2014)

I'm pretty happy with my crafting efforts. I hope my gal likes it.


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## SaraP (Jun 27, 2014)

I have a question... When is your birthday? Just the month, unless you want to tell more, ha!

I'm a November girl.


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## valeried44 (Jun 27, 2014)

Late July birthday here.  My birthday is right in the shipping time frame, so I've got things to look forward to during that time - my birthday, sending out my swap buddy's goodies and seeing all the reveals here!!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 27, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have a question... When is your birthday? Just the month, unless you want to tell more, ha!
> 
> I'm a November girl.


August 11, Leo baby RAWR! :sunshine:


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## trekkersangel (Jun 27, 2014)

July 6th! A little over a week away!


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## jednashley (Jun 27, 2014)

I love going to the pool in summer  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I can't believe we still have so long until we need to ship...I keep adding and adding - it is going to be huge by the time the ship date comes hehe


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## lastnite629 (Jun 27, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have a question... When is your birthday? Just the month, unless you want to tell more, ha!
> 
> I'm a November girl.


Sunday!  June 29th!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jun 27, 2014)

January 14.


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## DonnaD (Jun 27, 2014)

My favourite thing about summer is that it's not cold and there's no snow.  That's pretty much good enough for me.

I was born on Hitler's birthday aka National pot smoking day...which I didn't know about that last part until someone asked me if I smoked pot and I thought that was pretty out of the blue.  My AOL screen name (yes, I am that old) was Donna420.  My nephew explained the whole thing to me and thereafter I was known as Donna63 lol.


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## bonita22 (Jun 27, 2014)

My birthday is in late February.

As for my favorite thing about summer: when it's over! Arizona summers are brutal, so I try not to leave the house very often. The good thing is that it's only really hot for 3-4 months then the rest of the year is really nice.


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## BSquared (Jun 27, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have a question... When is your birthday? Just the month, unless you want to tell more, ha!
> 
> I'm a November girl.


June 8th!!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 27, 2014)

April 15th birthday here!


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## wadedl (Jun 27, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> My birthday is in late February.
> 
> As for my favorite thing about summer: when it's over! Arizona summers are brutal, so I try not to leave the house very often. The good thing is that it's only really hot for 3-4 months then the rest of the year is really nice.


The first time we visited AZ it was in the summer and everything was closed in the middle of the day! I remember thinking it was like a ghost town, no cars, just a single kid riding his scooter down the street. We were visiting my in-laws in Mesa heading to Scottsdale.


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Jun 27, 2014)

October 30th! I loved my birthday when I was little because presents and then a bunch of candy the next day was amazing lol


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## jennm149 (Jun 27, 2014)

My birthday is September 22 -- which is usually either the last day of summer or the first day of fall, both reasons to celebrate for me. 

These swaps are about all that are getting me through, and the heat and humidity have only just started.  Really, really not looking forward to travelling to Nashville at the end of July, especially since it's for work, which means running through airports in business clothes dragging suitcases.


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## Bizgirlva (Jun 27, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have a question... When is your birthday? Just the month, unless you want to tell more, ha!
> 
> I'm a November girl.


Tomorrow!!  

And I'm on vacation next week.  Can't freakin wait to leave the office today!


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## bonita22 (Jun 27, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Tomorrow!!
> 
> And I'm on vacation next week. Can't freakin wait to leave the office today!


Happy Birthday! Hope you have a wonderful vacation!


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## bonita22 (Jun 27, 2014)

wadedl said:


> The first time we visited AZ it was in the summer and everything was closed in the middle of the day! I remember thinking it was like a ghost town, no cars, just a single kid riding his scooter down the street. We were visiting my in-laws in Mesa heading to Scottsdale.


In the summer I try to stay indoors until sundown. I grew up here and I didn't think it was so bad until I moved to Washington state for a couple years. Now that I'm back, I can't stand the heat at all.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 27, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> My birthday is September 22 -- which is usually either the last day of summer or the first day of fall, both reasons to celebrate for me.
> 
> These swaps are about all that are getting me through, and the heat and humidity have only just started. Really, really not looking forward to travelling to Nashville at the end of July, especially since it's for work, which means running through airports in business clothes dragging suitcases.


I have a love/hate relationship with that airport. I wish they would update all the terminals.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 27, 2014)

My birthday is in late August, so this will be like an early birthday present for me!


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## jennm149 (Jun 27, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Tomorrow!!
> 
> And I'm on vacation next week.  Can't freakin wait to leave the office today!


Happy birthday and enjoy your vacation!


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## sstich79 (Jun 27, 2014)

January 8 for me, same as Elvis and my father.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 27, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have a question... When is your birthday? Just the month, unless you want to tell more, ha!
> 
> I'm a November girl.


I officially stopped having birthdays several years ago.  Not that I care about getting older, but for many years in a row I had horrible, horrible days on my birthday.  So I decided August 23 is just another day from here on out.  I don't even eat cake!


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## meaganola (Jun 27, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> January 8 for me, same as Elvis and my father.


Don't forget David Bowie!

Mine is January 21st.  Cat Power and I were born on the exact same day, down to the year.  But birthdays are a touchy subject to me.  I can't remember the last time I successfully did anything for one.  The last time I even *attempted* was for my fortieth birthday a couple of years ago.  Unexpectedly canceled plans ensued, and I've barely talked to my brother since because he showed me exactly how little he thinks of me.


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## LolaJay (Jun 27, 2014)

Mine is May 27th...which makes me a Gemini


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## LolaJay (Jun 27, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> I officially stopped having birthdays several years ago.  Not that I care about getting older, but for many years in a row I had horrible, horrible days on my birthday.  So I decided August 23 is just another day from here on out.  I don't even eat cake!


@@marigoldsue I hear you there - I didn't have a birthday for many years. Bad things always happened to me right around my birthday, the worst being my best friend dying two days before. My family gets angry so I do the dinner and cake thing with them but that's it!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 27, 2014)

my birthday is march 24. i've never had a good birthday. on my 21st none of my friends ended up going to the bar with me (just my boyfriend!) plus, i had my wisdom teeth out the 2 weeks prior and was deal with wicked dry sockets in all 4...even though i followed all the rules. i hadn't had solid food in weeks so you can imagine how that night ended!

to make up for it on my 22nd i organized a big bar crawl, spent like, $150 on matching sweaters (which kicked ass. everyone still wears them) and all my friends went out. but, we had a crasher. he was a fraternity brother of my main group of friends, never liked him, and he kinda stole all the attention, didn't even say hi to me, and actually took my friends/delayed that portion of the group on the crawl. so that kinda sucked. oh, and i'm pretty sure one of my coworkers was on some crazy drugs. we saw her go into the bathroom with some rando, come out, and could barely walk. i ended up throwing her in a cab (luckily, the cabbie was a regular at our starbucks and made she she made it home ok. he got free drinks for the rest of the time i worked there).

i could go on and on. every birthday, even when i was little, was no enjoyable. this year i didn't even tell anyone and no one remembered until facebook reminded them (and yes, people told me that to my face)


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## BSquared (Jun 27, 2014)

Awww I feel bad for you guys that don't like birthdays. I'm REALLY BIG on birthdays. It's like Christmas only it's just for you!! Rule around here is you can do whatever you want on your birthday, as long as it isn't (super) dangerous, illegal, or obscene lol. It's your day!! You get to pick everything!! Even though they aren't AS exciting now that I'm older, I still do my best to make it exactly what I want, and I have a well known to my boss rule that I refuse to work on my birthday.

Clearly I'm an only child.


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## msambrosia (Jun 27, 2014)

I just had a birthday this week...June 23rd!


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## dancersmum (Jun 27, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> I just had a birthday this week...June 23rd!


Happy belated birthday!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 27, 2014)

I used to hate birthdays now I tell my bf what I want to do, when and where and ask for diamonds. Ever since I stopped leaving it up to surprise I love them  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. Though this year I want a tree haha.


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## dancersmum (Jun 27, 2014)

January baby here! Never a fan of my birthday - but I love surprising other people on their birthdays - one of the best things I ever did was a surprise birthday party for my daughter last year...she had no clue and she had the best time. I don't think I will ever be able to top that for her!


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## klg534 (Jun 27, 2014)

I have been super absent on this thread! Sorry!!! My favorite thing about summer is winerys and corn on the cob...oh AND the beach duh... 

And I'm a November birthday baby!


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## Babs28 (Jun 27, 2014)

Hi everyone!  Sorry I've been MIA. My work has gone crazy since the ISIS militant group started and continues attacking Iraq.  I've been nonstop working.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I don't think I have ever been so busy! :angry:   I know several people have sent me emails that I have not yet had a chance to respond to (that includes you @DonnaD). I plan to respond to them over the weekend as I have time.

There are several questions I haven't responded to!  My favorite thing about summer?  Everything!  I love the long days (I'm a SAD sufferer) and the warm weather. Swimming, catching lightning bugs with my son,Z, (he's still at that stage where he is in awe of them), going to the waterpark with him.  Dresses and flip-flops!  And one of my all time favorite things is going to the beach and the boardwalk (the New Jersey boardwalk! There is nothing else quite like it)!!  Also, my son's birthday is August 26th so I enjoy planning his birthday parties too!

My ring size is a 4 1/2 or a 5, depending on the finger and the hand. My ears are pierced. I switch up my earrings but they are the last thing I remember to pick out so I don't always wear them.

I think there are other questions but I don't remember...my brain is fried from too much serious thinking!  lol   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   Oh!  My birthday!  It's August 4th.  I'm a Leo too @@Lolo22! ROOOAAAARRR!!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I've been fortunate enough to enjoy most of my "adult" birthdays.  I think it's to make up for my crappy ass kid birthdays. I would never get toys or fun stuff as presents. I always got school clothes as gifts!!!  Every year I would think "this is the year I get fun presents" only to be disappointed again and get boring clothes!  Then I spent my 18th birthday in Marine Corps bootcamp.  I was only there for 6 days, so it was really horrible.  The rest have been much, MUCH better!  Yay!!  :satisfied:


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## Jac13 (Jun 27, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> I just had a birthday this week...June 23rd!


Happy Belated Birthday!!! Hope you had a great day. My birthday is August 16. I usually don't do anything big but this year I am having a dinner party at Morton's. I will have a cake and champagne. Who knows maybe my guest will bring a gift or two, lol. I am really looking forward to my little get together because it has been a long time since I did something special for my birthday.


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## Babs28 (Jun 27, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> I am doing such a quick trip, it was so last minuted, booked a few days ago! I get in Friday around 5PM (that'll be a fun ride in from JFK right?!) and leave Monday AM!! I wish I had more time, I just needed an escape from the Phoenix heat and wanted to see my girlfriends. Next time??! I am hoping to get back out there hopefully in August/Sept.


Oh I didn't mean this weekend but definitely next time you come out!!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I don't live in the city, just close enough that it's fun trip for me to make!   Have fun while you are there!!


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## Jac13 (Jun 27, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> August 11, Leo baby RAWR! :sunshine:


Wow my brother's birthday is the 11th, my daughter is the 10th, I am the 16th.... So YES, Leo is in the house!!


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## LolaJay (Jun 27, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> I just had a birthday this week...June 23rd!


Happy belated birthday!! You share your day with my BESTEST friend of all time, she's amazing! Hope you had a wonderful day!


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## SaraP (Jun 27, 2014)

I'm sorry for everyone who's bday's have stunk! I kinda get it as you get older, but the kiddo's birthdays should magic! I always try to make it super special, we don't over indulge our kids the rest of the year, but bdays oh ya!

I'm having my daughters 10th birthday on Sunday and I've been working on it for over a month. It's a She's "Sew" 10 party, and rather then what you look like theme we are having the girls make their own cloths. She's having 8 friends over so fingers crossed! Luckily my husband is really good about pitching in and good old grandma too!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 27, 2014)

@ I had a similar thing happen for my 21st too! I only invited a few friends and the two that came fought the whole time (these were two guys too, what girls they were being) and ever since then I've just planned my own birthday day getaways with just me and the bf. We're much happier doing that. We go wine tasting for mine, and beer tasting for his, such fun traditions! This year bf's brother came too which was so nice, because it's great getting closer to his family.


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## ashleylind (Jun 27, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> My birthday is September 22 -- which is usually either the last day of summer or the first day of fall, both reasons to celebrate for me.


Birthday twins!


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## LolaJay (Jun 27, 2014)

SOOOOO I just wanted to share my awesome deal with you guys, since I love a great deal and I got some things on my awesome buddy's wish list  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Spent $62.00 on the Birchbox website - but had 300 points (-$30) and also used a 20% off code (MOBILE20) THEN got free shipping - grand total: $11.60!!

SO SO happy that I found some awesome things for my buddy!!!! I hope she loves them!


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## wadedl (Jun 27, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> January 8 for me, same as Elvis and my father.


Its my birthday too! My husband, daughter and mom are also January birthdays.


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## sstich79 (Jun 28, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Don't forget David Bowie!


Umm... how did I not know this? SHAME on my Labyrinth-loving ass!


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## chelsealady (Jun 28, 2014)

October birthday here. I'm a little blah about birthdays these days. Nothing really exciting but nothing really bad either.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 28, 2014)

I may have to be out of town for work from Aug. 4-8. There will be someone at home to take in the mail but I won't be able to post any reveals until I get back that weekend.


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## lastnite629 (Jun 28, 2014)

I had amazing birthdays as a kid.  Pool parties, sleep over parties, etc.  Mom would let me pick a theme and we would buy everything (Paper plates, napkins, etc) in that theme. My NKOTB party was pretty rad. lol     My 21st birthday was pretty great, too.  A group of 25ish went to dinner at Chili's and then to a local bar to hear a band play.  The bouncer looked at my driver's license and stamped my hand as a minor. I was so mad.  Not that I was planning on drinking, but still.  I always feel bad when I say that was my best birthday because my husband (then boyfriend) was stationed in Korea during that time so he wasn't with me.


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## Kelli (Jun 28, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> SOOOOO I just wanted to share my awesome deal with you guys, since I love a great deal and I got some things on my awesome buddy's wish list  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> Spent $62.00 on the Birchbox website - but had 300 points (-$30) and also used a 20% off code (MOBILE20) THEN got free shipping - grand total: $11.60!!
> 
> SO SO happy that I found some awesome things for my buddy!!!! I hope she loves them!


It's stuff like this that makes me think I need to jump on the BB bandwagon! When I first got into subs, I really just wanted makeup, so I didn't put much thought into Birchbox. Now that I've looked at the shop to make a list, I saw they have a lot of makeup in the shop, so i could use my points for the makeup I want while receiving skincare samples. That would work.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> (it doesn't seem to be a hard sell lol).


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## SaraP (Jun 28, 2014)

I keep going back and fourth, the boxes seem meh but everyone seems to love it or at least love the points.


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## sstich79 (Jun 28, 2014)

I just got on board with BB... going through their shop (to make a list as requested earlier in this thread) finally pushed me into it. My first box was pretty meh, but I am already seeing the value of their point system, so I'm going to give it a few months and see what I think.


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## Kelli (Jun 28, 2014)

sarap said:


> I keep going back and fourth, the boxes seem meh but everyone seems to love it or at least love the points.





sstich79 said:


> I just got on board with BB... going through their shop (to make a list as requested earlier in this thread) finally pushed me into it. My first box was pretty meh, but I am already seeing the value of their point system, so I'm going to give it a few months and see what I think.


Yeah, that's how I've seen it, the boxes are just ok, but the points might make up for it. I think I am getting close to getting a point item from ipsy and once I do (if I do, since some of my points will be expiring soon I think, so then I'd pretty much never get enough) I am thinking of dropping it and going for BB.


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## sstich79 (Jun 28, 2014)

Kelli said:


> Yeah, that's how I've seen it, the boxes are just ok, but the points might make up for it. I think I am getting close to getting a point item from ipsy and once I do (if I do, since some of my points will be expiring soon I think, so then I'd pretty much never get enough) I am thinking of dropping it and going for BB.


Yeah, those damn Ipsy points... is it even mathematically possible to get to a thousand before they expire if you don't make any referrals? One thing that I do find appealing about BB is that I am constantly on the prowl for hair products to cure my horrible hair woes, and I'm one of the Ipsy subscribers who doesn't mind the skincare-heavy bags, so I won't mind them sending me a lot of those kinds of samples as opposed to cheap smelly made-in-China makeup.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 28, 2014)

I think the general rule of BB is stick with it for at least two months. Pretty much everyone I've heard from gets a crappy first box. I think that's just what happens, there is a crappy box they give to all the new customers, which seems silly for retaining customers, but stick through it for another month. My second month was actually one of my favorite boxes so check out the points system, learn all the tricks if you're so inclined, and wait for that second box to arrive. Then judge it and decide if it's for you.


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## sstich79 (Jun 28, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I think the general rule of BB is stick with it for at least two months. Pretty much everyone I've heard from gets a crappy first box. I think that's just what happens, there is a crappy box they give to all the new customers, which seems silly for retaining customers, but stick through it for another month. My second month was actually one of my favorite boxes so check out the points system, learn all the tricks if you're so inclined, and wait for that second box to arrive. Then judge it and decide if it's for you.


Yeah... I'm going to stick around at least long enough to get enough points to pick up a couple of things I really want to try, like the Beauty Protector haircare stuff. After that, we shall see.


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## LolaJay (Jun 28, 2014)

I always go back and forth with BB - I always find myself staying subbed for a few months then rage canceling when I get sick of the boxes. The points really make it hard to give up, though! The good part is that if you cancel you can always reactivate pretty easily if you want to come back.


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## meaganola (Jun 28, 2014)

I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH SHOPPING!  For *both* exchanges.  I have orders en route, but at this point, the only thing I will be spending money on will be shipping.  I even bought a new roll of bubblewrap so I won't have to worry about needing *that* at the last minute. 

(Well, okay, I guess I should pick up a few fun non-beauty extras, but I never know what those are going to be until I stumble across them.  The beauty items were the main things I wanted to make absolutely sure I got, and all done there, so I can stop stressing about that part of the proceedings!)


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## jesemiaud (Jun 28, 2014)

Whew...just got caught up reading this thread. Vacation was wonderful, but happy to be back home.

A couple of questions that have popped up in my absence: Fave thing about summer - longer days! and ice cream at the shop down the street. 

Birthdate is October 17.

Came home to a couple of packages for my swap buddy and so frustrated! I ordered something from Birchbox that was on her list and it came damaged. I contacted them and they are sending a replacement. I was kind of hoping they would let me keep the damaged item, but they asked me to send it back, lol. 

I also ordered a one of the create your own Fortune Cookie whipped cream and they sent me the wrong scent. They are letting me keep the wrong one, but I don't think the scent sounds great, lol.

So hypothetically, would you enjoy a scent that was Vanilla Hazelnut &amp; Chai Tea?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## sstich79 (Jun 28, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> Whew...just got caught up reading this thread. Vacation was wonderful, but happy to be back home.
> 
> A couple of questions that have popped up in my absence: Fave thing about summer - longer days! and ice cream at the shop down the street.
> 
> ...


Those are some of my favorite coffee/tea flavors, so I'd actually be curious as to how they all blend together! Vanilla and chai would play nicely, I think, but the hazelnut... not sure.


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## meaganola (Jun 28, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> So hypothetically, would you enjoy a scent that was Vanilla Hazelnut &amp; Chai Tea?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Uh, I know you're talking about a body butter, but I think I want a vanilla hazelnut chai tea to drink right now!


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## cobainrls (Jun 28, 2014)

Okay so let me get caught up here

Favorite thing about summer: longer days for sure! How great an iced cold beer tastes when it is so hot outside.

Birthday: July 26th Leo baby!

About BB: here is the main difference to me between Ipsy and BB: BB has more high-end products and Ipsy has more full sized but, they are not as high end. Ipsy also tends to repeat the same brands(even though BB is starting to do that as well). I loved BB way better than Ipsy but, some people will say they like Ipsy better. I love BB's customer service and their points system. If you aren't getting the boxes you would like(give it a few months after you sign up) then call their customer service and talk to them about it. They will help you out! I have heard don't check all the boxes in your profile. Just check one or two. Be very specific.


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## cg0112358 (Jun 28, 2014)

Ugh, typed a long post and my Kindle deleted it. I'll just wait until I get back from vacation to catch up...


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## BSquared (Jun 29, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Uh, I know you're talking about a body butter, but I think I want a vanilla hazelnut chai tea to drink right now!


I thought the exact same thing haha


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## Kelli (Jun 29, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Yeah, those damn Ipsy points... is it even mathematically possible to get to a thousand before they expire if you don't make any referrals? One thing that I do find appealing about BB is that I am constantly on the prowl for hair products to cure my horrible hair woes, and I'm one of the Ipsy subscribers who doesn't mind the skincare-heavy bags, so I won't mind them sending me a lot of those kinds of samples as opposed to cheap smelly made-in-China makeup.


I, by some miracle, got one referral and I still don't think I will be able to get enough points (because I unsubbed for a few months...I calculated that if I resubbed  I would have enough to cash out before losing points...but I was waitlisted for a month when I re-subbed, so I think I am going to be a bit short because of expiring points).



jesemiaud said:


> So hypothetically, would you enjoy a scent that was Vanilla Hazelnut &amp; Chai Tea?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I'm not even much of a vanilla scent fan and that sounds like it would smell nice (and taste nice if it were in drinkable form lol).


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## CurlyTails (Jun 29, 2014)

@@jesemiaud that sounds like a nice scent and beverage!


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## ashleylind (Jun 29, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> Came home to a couple of packages for my swap buddy and so frustrated! I ordered something from Birchbox that was on her list and it came damaged. I contacted them and they are sending a replacement. I was kind of hoping they would let me keep the damaged item, but they asked me to send it back, lol.


That's surprising. Usually they let you keep the item. Hopefully, they at least gave you 100 points for the hassle.

I've been with BB since October, and I love them. I currently have 2 subs to them (but it's been 3-4 in the past). I love higher end beauty products, so I feel they are a good match for me. And a lot of the time, the items I'm least excited about are the items I end up falling in love with. Their points system is incredible, and they seem to always give them out for any errors on their part. I've easily purchased $600 worth of beauty products (including a Clarisonic Mia 2) for maybe $75. And I've already acquired another 700 points.

I actually just canceled my Ipsy membership after 4 months. I just wasn't finding as many items I loved...or even liked. While it's nice Ipsy sends more deluxe/full size samples, if you don't like the product – then it's rather worthless. I can see why many people are on the Ipsy bandwagon, but it just wasn't for me.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 29, 2014)

I think I am just about done with everything. There are a couple of things I still need to get for something I am putting together but everything else is done. I'm waiting on an order to come in and then I will see what everything looks like and start wrapping!


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## Kelli (Jun 29, 2014)

I had been feeling a bit lazy and behind on my gifts (waiting on Amazon order, waiting for a Sephora GC to arrive so I can make a purchase, etc), so I decided to put together the box of samples from my stash and get it all wrapped up!


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## Lolo22 (Jun 29, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I think the general rule of BB is stick with it for at least two months. Pretty much everyone I've heard from gets a crappy first box. I think that's just what happens, there is a crappy box they give to all the new customers, which seems silly for retaining customers, but stick through it for another month. My second month was actually one of my favorite boxes so check out the points system, learn all the tricks if you're so inclined, and wait for that second box to arrive. Then judge it and decide if it's for you.


My first box ever had a hot mama blush, deluxe sized Stila bronzer and something from Fresh(can't remember what else). I did not even know what those brands were at the time but now I look back and think wow I had a dream box and didn't know it!!
@@jesemiaud I think that flavor sounds nummy!


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> My first box ever had a hot mama blush, deluxe sized Stila bronzer and something from Fresh(can't remember what else). I did not even know what those brands were at the time but now I look back and think wow I had a dream box and didn't know it!!
> 
> @@jesemiaud I think that flavor sounds nummy!


If bb sent me box's like that I'd end up subbing for life  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dancersmum (Jun 30, 2014)

@@SaraP - hope your girl had a fabulous party!


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

Thanks! She had a blast, I'm exhausted but it was worth it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## button6004 (Jun 30, 2014)

Im catching up, my birthday is on July 24. Yay! Its almost here! 

I picked up a few more items in trade this week, one more thing and I think I am done shopping!


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## Donna529 (Jun 30, 2014)

I have all my goodies for my gal. Sooo excited to send it all


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## Lolo22 (Jun 30, 2014)

I just discovered a super cool local treat that my swapster will be getting.  I hope she likes sweets!!

I already said I was done shopping, but I keep buying more stuff.  Pretty sure this gift is way beyond rad at this point  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jun 30, 2014)

Lush just opened at the mall 4 miles from my job!!!!!! So excited!!!!!


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## jennm149 (Jun 30, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Lush just opened at the mall 4 miles from my job!!!!!! So excited!!!!!


Which mall?  I hope it's one near me!


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## cobainrls (Jun 30, 2014)

I have all my stuff for my person that I swapped for! I just gotta buy my goodies then I will be done! I can't decide what I want to get her. I so wish I was rich and I would just buy her everything off her wishlist! But, I am not and I need to narrow it down. The date to ship will be here before I know it so I gotta make a decision soon and get it. I need to wrap the goodies as well. I suck so bad at wrapping things. I want her goodies to look nice. I have decided not to make anything only because what I know how to make and it looks good is so heavy and glass so I don't want it to break or I don't want to have to pay a large amount to ship. This is so fun but, kinda stressful! I mean stressful in a good way! I can't wait for my gal to get her goodies!


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## Babs28 (Jun 30, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> Which mall?  I hope it's one near me!


Rockaway mall!! Is that close? They are having a grand opening celebration on July 12th. Maybe we could meet up! PM me if you want the details!


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

I have a question... Are you a Techie? What tech can you not live without?


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## CurlyTails (Jun 30, 2014)

The only thing I really need is my phone.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have a question... Are you a Techie? What tech can you not live without?


Uh yes, I have too many gadgets! As much as I love my phone, I think I'd have to say my Macbook Pro. Pretty soon with the next software update I'll be able to make calls from it too, so once that happens I'll be able to use it for everything my phone does and more.

Phone: I have an iPhone 5. I'm an Apple junkie


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

iphone or android? and what type??? I'm thinking about cases, keyboard stickers, travel bags or fun things like that...


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

I'd say my phone too...it's almost as good as my laptop and way better then my tablets. 

I use a HTC 1, Sony Vaio 17", and a Kindle Fire (the first one ugh!) and a Samsung Galaxy 10.1.


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## CurlyTails (Jun 30, 2014)

I also have an iPhone 5 as well as an iPad mini.


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## meaganola (Jun 30, 2014)

I love my MacBook (13") and iPhone (4s, although i'm getting a new one -- probably a 5s -- as soon as this contract ends in August) approximately equally, although my phone is the one that goes *everywhere* with me. I'm an information junkie, and this thing is my gateway to everything in an instant.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 30, 2014)

i loooooove my iphone 5. its battery is pretty beat though and i think i should replace it soon with a 5s. 

I grew up my whole life with PCs but ever since getting an iPad, I'm in love with the idea of owning a macbook air!


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## trekkersangel (Jun 30, 2014)

We are apple junkies in our house.  My hubby is a techie (like MAJOR techie!) so I have an iPhone 5 (in November I'll get whatever new phone apple has when our contract expires &amp; we can upgrade), an iPad mini, &amp; an iMac.  I'm really wanting an Macbook Air too. . . but that will have to wait.

That's a great question to ask.  They make all sorts of fun phone &amp; iPad cases these days.


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

Wow so many apple lovers  :lol:


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## marigoldsue (Jun 30, 2014)

Another apple girl here.  I have a 13" Macbook Pro, an iPhone 5S and a first generation iPad.  Unfortunately my work programs require me to use a PC, so I also have a PC laptop.-


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 30, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Another apple girl here.  I have a 13" Macbook Pro, an iPhone 5S and a first generation iPad.  Unfortunately my work programs require me to use a PC, so I also have a PC laptop.-


same! school and work require PCs.

but, since i'll be done with school and will have a separate pc computer, i might as well get a mac for funsies right?


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## meaganola (Jun 30, 2014)

Windows Vista infuriated me to the point where I now refuse to buy Microsoft products. At all. I don't care that they have changed since. That OS was a *nightmare*.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 30, 2014)

Here's my list: iPhone 5, Macbook Pro 15 inch, iPad 2 (this really needs to be upgraded but not now), and Kindle Paperwhite.


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 30, 2014)

iPhone 4S--all the rest of my tech belongs to my work.


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## Lolo22 (Jun 30, 2014)

Not sure if I would consider myself a techie, more like a time waster....lol.  I have an iphone 5s, laptop (seriously this thing is from college and going to die any day now), a PC, a fitbit (actually not anymore, my dog decided to eat it yesterday!!) and a heart rate monitor that I use frequently.  I just upgraded to the 5s from the 4s so I literally have no accessories for it since the old ones don't work.


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## Dashery (Jun 30, 2014)

Not a techie at all. I don't have a smart, any sort of tablet or iPad thing, no video game systems. My iPod is an old refurbished version. Nothing special, really.


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## DonnaD (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> iphone or android? and what type??? I'm thinking about cases, keyboard stickers, travel bags or fun things like that...


Funny you say this.  I actually added phone type things to my gift.

I rarely use my cell which is just some plain generic thing.  I have a Kindle HDX, an iPod touch 5 and a laptop.  I use my laptop more than anything but I couldn't do without either of the others.


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## cobainrls (Jun 30, 2014)

My phone is the one thing I can't live without. I do have a nook color and my windows PC. My phone is a windows phone and i love it. It is a nokia! I don't really like MAC systems. They confuse me!


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## jayeme (Jun 30, 2014)

I don't even have a smartphone (didn't have a cell phone at all for a really long time), but my 5 year old Macbook Pro (13 inch) is pretty much my favorite thing ever although it is sadly getting kinda slow - but it has managed to travel across continents with me (as has everything I own pretty much) and still works after 5 years so that's impressive in my book. I also have a second gen (so veeeery old) iPod touch with a cracked screen and a pretty beat up old nook. I'd have all the gadgets if I had money (and also if I didn't frequently stay in hostels with my gadgets - don't bring anything you can't afford to lose!) though.


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## BSquared (Jun 30, 2014)

Not a techie at all. I use my phone for pretty much everything. I have a cheap laptop I typically only use if I have to print something. Hubby has a gaming computer he built but I don't touch it, too many buttons! I'm so old lol.


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## emilylithium (Jun 30, 2014)

i've been a total PC girl before. but just got an iphone 5s, and absolutely love it! Really want to get macbook air when the current laptop stops working (only two year old though, so still a long way to go)


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## Kelli (Jun 30, 2014)

I would probably be more of a techie if I had money lol.

I'm an Android person. I think I'll probably always stay with droids unless I were to like win an iPhone or something lol.

I have a generic 9 inch HD tablet that I never use cause it only works when plugged in, since the day I got it (got as agift, no receipt, so I can't send it in under the warranty), the cheapest  windows based laptop -i think it's a 15 inch- and a super cheap android smartphone (Kyocera Rise...it was $24 on Black Friday, I love that Amazon has cheap cases even for random, nonpopular ones like the Rise!).

I absolutely hate having a cell because I don't like people feeling like they deserve to always be in contact. Friends get ticked off if you don't get back to them instantly and I soooo hate that.

I do Virgin Moble's $25 plan, so I sometimes just don't pay on time and wait a few weeks just to get a break from always being connected! I do love having internet access while away, comes in handy when you're 4 hrs from home and are trying to find a good place to eat or you and a friend are not agreeing on something and you want to search to see who's right LOL


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## rachelshine (Jun 30, 2014)

Wheee, survived NYC whirlwind weekend  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Sadly, couldn't get into Bite for an expensive lippie, they were booked until like next weekend!!

Catching up, my birthday is in December, Sagittarius through and through. 

@@SaraP, adorable birthday party decorations! Glad to hear the day went well!

As far a techie, Apple fan girl here. I have the iPhone 5s, iPad, MacBook Air, and iPod somewhere that doesn't get much love anymore. I love getting new cases for my phone and covers for the iPad, it's like changing their nail polish or something right??

Gift-wise, so close to being done! This Birchbox cart is filling uppp. I think I am just going to wait until after the July boxes are out though to gobble out the extra points &amp; be able to throw in a few more things  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

@@rachelshine Thanks!

I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


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## CurlyTails (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> @@rachelshine Thanks!
> 
> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


I think I would prefer the makeup want  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


Since I'm not big on designer clothes/accessories/shoes, and I have the one designer item I really want (Kate Spade purse) I'd go for the makeup item!


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

Ha it is a Kate Spade item =)


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## puppymomofthree (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> @@rachelshine Thanks!
> 
> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


I think I would go for the non-makeup item since there will be other makeup items. Especially if my buddy got a great deal on my favorite designer! I would have it for much longer than the makeup.


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## valeried44 (Jun 30, 2014)

I'm not much of a techie and not a Mac gal.  It seems I'm in the minority here!  I have an Droild Razr M phone, Nook tablet, and a Gateway desktop computer.  I guess I'd have to say that I couldn't live without my phone.  I use it as WiFi to connect to the internet.  I don't have a lot of options in the middle of nowhere...  

I am not a fashionista (or anywhere near that), so I don't really have a favorite designer. But I do like cute bags, wallets, and purses!  If someone found a non-makeup item that they thought I would like, bring it on!


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> Ha it is a Kate Spade item =)


Hah well then, that's tough! If that's the case, I think I'd agree with @@puppymomofthree, designer item since there will be other makeup items in the box and most of my big makeup items I want are not as "urgent" to me as some of the smaller items on my wish list. As in, there are fewer big items I want, so I'm more likely to get all of those eventually, versus so many smaller items that it's hard to decide on which ones to get first when I'm shopping.


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## trekkersangel (Jun 30, 2014)

I wouldn't mind either thing being the main item! I'm super easy to please. Ha ha ha. I'm sure the person you are buying for will love whatever you choose to send here.

For me personally, this whole experience is so fun. The fact that someone is stalking &amp; shopping just for me makes me full of happiness. I'm one that never gets stuff for my birthday &amp; anything I get for Christmas gets ruined because someone slips up &amp; hides the gift where I find it accidentally, or my kids tell me by accident, or something happens that ruins the surprise! This whole experience is SO exciting for me. I have no idea what I am getting! All I know is that someone is surprising me! It could be a box of shredded paper for all I care! I just want a surprise for once!!!!!! Ha ha ha.


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## Kelly Silva (Jun 30, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I wouldn't mind either thing being the main item! I'm super easy to please. Ha ha ha. I'm sure the person you are buying for will love whatever you choose to send here.
> 
> For me personally, this whole experience is so fun. The fact that someone is stalking &amp; shopping just for me makes me full of happiness. I'm one that never gets stuff for my birthday &amp; anything I get for Christmas gets ruined because someone slips up &amp; hides the gift where I find it accidentally, or my kids tell me by accident, or something happens that ruins the surprise! This whole experience is SO exciting for me. I have no idea what I am getting! All I know is that someone is surprising me! It could be a box of shredded paper for all I care! I just want a surprise for once!!!!!! Ha ha ha.


Surprise! Shredded paper!  :lol:


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## cobainrls (Jun 30, 2014)

I would say either is fine with me unless you have a Louis Vuitton Purse you would like to send! HAHA!


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## ashleylind (Jun 30, 2014)

I'm a graphic designer, so of course I'm team Apple. I have a personal MacBook Pro and an iMac for work (in my home office). Then I have an iPhone 5 as well. The only thing I'm not Apple on, is my tablet – I have a Kindle Fire HD. I love Amazon and ebooks, so I felt like that made the most sense. Plus, I break things easily – so I felt like the Kindle was a better gamble...especially with a toddler in the house.

I wish I could get fun cases for my iPhone, but I know I'd crack my screen within a week. So I have my boring, waterproof LifeProof case on it. I've dropped my phone multiple times, and it's still going strong.


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## marigoldsue (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> @@rachelshine Thanks!
> 
> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


I would probably go with the non-makeup item,  But that is because I have bought myself a TON of makeup in the last few months, while ignoring other items.  That being said though, I feel like @trekkersangel...just tickled that someone is thinking of mr.  (Although I am so busy thinking about my buddy, at times I forget that someone is doing the same for me).


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## jesemiaud (Jun 30, 2014)

Not really a techie person. I have an Android phone...LG G2. I've broken it twice (from dropping it while running) so I now keep it in one of those crazy durable cases. I don't remember the brand. I also bought a thing that goes on my arm to hold it while I run now.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I also have a Nook HD and since I'm an accountant...PCs all the way.

If I had the choice of a designer item for the big gift, I'd go for it. I love makeup, but I also love accessories and that would be something that I probably wouldn't buy for myself.


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## Kelli (Jun 30, 2014)

I'd be ok with the designer thing if it's something my person thought I'd like, but in general if I were buying stuff myself, I'd go makeup over designer item.

It is very exciting to think that someone is taking the time to sneakily get to know you and get you a special gift! In my family, the holidays are all about the kids and we celebrate kids' birthday's, but not adult ones really, so it is fun to be getting something picked out for you (and fun getting to shop for someone who likes makeup! None of my close family/friends have any interest whatsoever in makeup!).


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> Ha it is a Kate Spade item =)


Then I totally want it lol


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

I'm such a waffler, I've gone back and forth too many times! I guess I send in a Roadie....


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## bonita22 (Jun 30, 2014)

I have an iPhone, iPad mini, a MacBook Pro and an iPod nano. I don't consider myself a techie but I can't live without my iPad.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 30, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> I have an iPhone, iPad mini, a MacBook Pro and an iPod nano. I don't consider myself a techie but I can't live without my iPad.


Right?? My boyfriends mom got us an iPad for Christmas (to share. Not one each) and I LOVE it 1000x more than I thought I would. I think it's because I see it as being purely for fun whereas I have a work laptop and a lab at school to run all my data, write reports, etc.


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## wadedl (Jun 30, 2014)

I am a Graphic Designer as well so all we have is Apple in the house. I am pretty techie. My personal items are a MacBook Pro and an iPhone 5s. We have 2 Apple TVs my husbands iPhone 5 and iMac since he does most the big work nowadays, my kids each have iPad minis and somewhere they have iPod touches but I have not seen them in a while. We gave our iPad with Retina display to my stepdaughter for Christmas.

We are also a Nikon household.

We bought a Windows machine a few years ago so my husband could check his programming (website) on another platform but it died. It literally lasted 5 minutes before it got the blue screen of death or whatever it is called. We opened it launched a game and I said my turn, my turn and as soon as I touched it, it died! Shoved the thing in the box took it straight back to Best Buy and they tried to say we broke it. It had only been out of the store for an hour!!! They tried to make us pay for the Geek Squad to fix it!! The only Microsoft product in the whole house is an X-Box with a Kinect that won't work the majority of the time. Seriously hate Microsoft.

I would like either the designer item or makeup.


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## SaraP (Jun 30, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> I have an iPhone, iPad mini, a MacBook Pro and an iPod nano. I don't consider myself a techie but I can't live without my iPad.


Hahaha "I don't consider my self a techie, I just have all the tech!"  :w00t:   :laughno:   :smilehappyyes:


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jun 30, 2014)

SummerSwap graphic designers do you have a link or a website where I can check out your work? I've been on an ogling spree lately. One of my friends just graduated from Pratt and I've been creeping on all of the graphic designers' portfolios.


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## bonita22 (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> Hahaha "I don't consider my self a techie, I just have all the tech!" :w00t: :laughno: :smilehappyyes:


I know lol! My husband is a techie, so every birthday/anniversary I get some sort of gadget.



usofjessamerica said:


> Right?? My boyfriends mom got us an iPad for Christmas (to share. Not one each) and I LOVE it 1000x more than I thought I would. I think it's because I see it as being purely for fun whereas I have a work laptop and a lab at school to run all my data, write reports, etc.


I got my iPad mini for my birthday last year. At first I didn't think I needed it, but after a while I found myself using it way more than my laptop.


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## bonita22 (Jun 30, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


I would be ok with getting an item from a designer. Especially if it's Kate Spade  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I just know I'm going to love whatever my swap buddy gifts me  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## wadedl (Jun 30, 2014)

I mainly put together catalogs together for my husband lately but on my husband's portfolio I did the main part of that Gloom one and the Living Dead Doll cards I had a lot of input. 

http://www.brianpatrickwade.com/work/print-design/


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## Babs28 (Jul 1, 2014)

Team Apple all the way!  I have an iPhone 5, a Macbook and an Apple TV.  I have a Kindle Fire HD although I am dying for an iPad.  I just couldn't justify buying one this year.  I finally broke down and bought the Kindle about 3 months ago and only really use it to read books.  For work, it's all Dells and Microsoft.   :angry:



sarap said:


> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


I feel like trekkersangel! I'm so excited that someone is thinking about me and putting together a TOTAL surprise JUST for me! :w00t:   Since I had my son, I no longer get surprised with anything  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> - I hardly did before I had Z as my mom ruins ALL surprises!!   :angry:    I know I will love whatever my Swapbuddy sends me but I am super sentimental and a designer item will last WAY longer than the makeup and would likely be something that I could carry with me or put on my vanity or nightstand for a long time to come.  I can look at it and think, "My swap buddy was thinking of me when she got me this!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ".  Sometimes those small things make a bad day better for me!


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## wadedl (Jul 1, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Team Apple all the way!  I have an iPhone 5, a Macbook and an Apple TV.  I have a Kindle Fire HD although I am dying for an iPad.  I just couldn't justify buying one this year.  I finally broke down and bought the Kindle about 3 months ago and only really use it to read books.  For work, it's all Dells and Microsoft.   :angry:
> 
> I feel like trekkersangel! I'm so excited that someone is thinking about me and putting together a TOTAL surprise JUST for me! :w00t:   Since I had my son, I no longer get surprised with anything   - I hardly did before I had Z as my mom ruins ALL surprises!!   :angry:    I know I will love whatever my Swapbuddy sends me but I am super sentimental and a designer item will last WAY longer than the makeup and would likely be something that I could carry with me or put on my vanity or nightstand for a long time to come.  I can look at it and think, "My swap buddy was thinking of me when she got me this!   ".  Sometimes those small things make a bad day better for me!


I never get surprises either, I thinks that why I like subscription boxes so much. The last surprise I got was amazing though.


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## DonnaD (Jul 1, 2014)

wadedl said:


> I mainly put together catalogs together for my husband lately but on my husband's portfolio I did the main part of that Gloom one and the Living Dead Doll cards I had a lot of input.
> 
> http://www.brianpatrickwade.com/work/print-design/


So you know, "they" is missing the E in the header text.



sarap said:


> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


 
I don't care what I get...for real.  I'm just happy to be getting something!


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## wadedl (Jul 1, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> So you know, "they" is missing the E in the header text.


lol My husband is dyslexic so he does those type of things all the time for personal work but I usually catch it.


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## SaraP (Jul 1, 2014)

I'm disgraphic, a form of dyslexia. I will often mash words together, if they end and start with the same letter, for example skim milk will be skimilk. It's a pain in the butt because I hardly recognize it's happened.


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## Christa W (Jul 1, 2014)

I would consider myself to be very much a techie.  I don't own a tablet because I have a smart phone (iPhone 4) and a really nice PC I built.  I work from home so other than the occasional traveling, I really don't need one.  I wouldn't be mad if my Swapbuddy gave me an iPad... just saying LOL!!!  I do not need any accessories or items for any of my tech.  I have an Otterbox for my phone and I have a zillion other cases, chargers, docks, speakers etc.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 1, 2014)

sarap said:


> @@rachelshine Thanks!
> 
> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


I'd be perfectly fine with a big non-makeup/beauty item if my swapster has something else in mind.  Heck, I'd be fine if the big item was some kind of food lol.  :lol: Bags, wallets, clothing items, phone accessories, fashion accessories, etc., etc, I love all that stuff.   I like makeup and beauty stuff too, though.  Pretty much I like everything!  Except bugs.  Please don't send me bugs.


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## ashleylind (Jul 1, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> SummerSwap graphic designers do you have a link or a website where I can check out your work? I've been on an ogling spree lately. One of my friends just graduated from Pratt and I've been creeping on all of the graphic designers' portfolios.


Errr, I haven't updated my portfolio since having my daughter. :blush:

Right now, I'm an art director for 3 medical trade magazines. Before that job, I was all about my portfolio, because I was at a marketing firm working with various clients. When I did that, I did a lot of freelance work, so I marketed myself more. I especially loved doing party and wedding invitations...and the location maps that went inside of them. My favorite thing now is doing party packages. I did a beer tasting party for my husband's 30th 4 years ago, and I still get people requesting it, which is fun.

Maybe one day I'll update my portfolio. Silly child and MoT taking up all my time.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## CurlyTails (Jul 1, 2014)

wadedl said:


> I am a Graphic Designer as well so all we have is Apple in the house. I am pretty techie. My personal items are a MacBook Pro and an iPhone 5s. We have 2 Apple TVs my husbands iPhone 5 and iMac since he does most the big work nowadays, my kids each have iPad minis and somewhere they have iPod touches but I have not seen them in a while. We gave our iPad with Retina display to my stepdaughter for Christmas.
> 
> We are also a Nikon household.
> 
> ...


I am also a Nikon girl!


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## lastnite629 (Jul 1, 2014)

I don't know that i'd consider myself a techie. Hubby &amp; I both have iPhone5's.  We, also, have 2 Windows laptops, a Kindle, &amp; an XBox One.


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## Christa W (Jul 1, 2014)

If anyone is still shopping Zoya promo 3 polishes just pay $12 s&amp;h using code THREEDOM through midnight 07/06 (includes pixies and magical pixies)


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## wadedl (Jul 1, 2014)

sarap said:


> I'm disgraphic, a form of dyslexia. I will often mash words together, if they end and start with the same letter, for example skim milk will be skimilk. It's a pain in the butt because I hardly recognize it's happened.


I am pretty sure my son is Dysgraphic. He has terrible penmanship (illegible even by him) with reversals, even with graph paper he has a hard time lining up math problems. Thing is he is advanced in all his subjects and has a high school reading level for a couple of years now (starts "middle school" next year)

He has had an impossible time with homework, 4-5 hours a night and the teachers response was that I should punish him for his inability to finish it. Basically the only thing he was going every night was eating homework, shower, sleep. What was left to take away? Food? He started getting sent to the principals office for incomplete homework and she pushed to get him tested.

He got Very Superior and Superior on all the tests except when it came to visual motor skills in which he got low and low average. What it means is when he starts his new school next year he will be going to the occupational therapist or psychologist every day and he will have a piece of paper that proves he has a hard time on file.


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## ashleylind (Jul 1, 2014)

I've created a monster. My 2-year-old had started using/stealing my lip balms, so I got her a 7-pack of Hello Kitty chapstick. She is obsessed! Not only does she use them regularly, she lines them up and just admires them.


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## meaganola (Jul 1, 2014)

@ashleylind  It could be worse.  She could be like my brother:  He would steal my Lip Smackers and EAT THEM.


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## CurlyTails (Jul 1, 2014)

I have a random question. How old were you when you first became interested in makeup? For me it was 6th grade. A friend and I would sit in class and experiment with lip glosses and eye shadows and I've been hooked ever since!


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## ashleylind (Jul 1, 2014)

meaganola said:


> @ashleylind  It could be worse.  She could be like my brother:  He would steal my Lip Smackers and EAT THEM.


She did that with the first one (thankfully it was just a cheap Chapstick), but since then she actually "uses" them. I have to say "use" because she actually puts it on her cheeks.

As for when I noticed makeup, it was 5th or 6th grade, and my aunt gave me a bunch of her Clinique samples. Although, I think I more collected versus used. In 7th grade, I fell in love with Wet N Wild nail polish, and remember feeling so cool wearing polish in rebellious non-pink/red colors.

In high school, I established a makeup routine, which I'm embarrassed to say I maintained until last fall when I truly got into makeup. In the fall, I scheduled my surgery to get a pacemaker/defibrillator put in, and makeup became a wonderful distraction for me which quickly turned into just a love of beauty products.


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## jayeme (Jul 1, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I have a random question. How old were you when you first became interested in makeup? For me it was 6th grade. A friend and I would sit in class and experiment with lip glosses and eye shadows and I've been hooked ever since!


I never even wore makeup until towards the end of high school. I was about 17, and I wore the exact same makeup every day - Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse foundation, and Clinique GWPs from my grandmother (usually a lipstick, mascara, and eyeshadow, nothing else, but I had a small collection of things she gave me). I only really got into makeup about 3 years ago, and now I have SO MUCH MAKEUP. I used all those things up completely, but now I only even hit pan on a very few things that I use every day!


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## rachelshine (Jul 1, 2014)

Christa W said:


> If anyone is still shopping Zoya promo 3 polishes just pay $12 s&amp;h using code THREEDOM through midnight 07/06 (includes pixies and magical pixies)


Ughhhh, I keep waffling on if I want to do this promo or not! I have so many untouched polishes, but someone must buy the pretties!! Natty is just so gorgeousss


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## jesemiaud (Jul 1, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I have a random question. How old were you when you first became interested in makeup? For me it was 6th grade. A friend and I would sit in class and experiment with lip glosses and eye shadows and I've been hooked ever since!


For me, it would have to be in middle school. My dad was strict and wouldn't let us wear make up. So I would buy colored chalk and take that to the bathroom at school and use it for eyeshadow. I'm sure I looked like a hot mess. He started letting us wear makeup in high school and I've been hooked ever since.


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## ashleylind (Jul 1, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Ughhhh, I keep waffling on if I want to do this promo or not! I have so many untouched polishes, but someone must buy the pretties!! Natty is just so gorgeousss


I'll enable...do it! I love Zoya! The colors are so pretty and it has has amazing staying power. I go swimming 3-4 times a week, and Zoya polish is the only polish I can find that stands up to the chlorine.


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## DonnaD (Jul 1, 2014)

Zoya's not a personal fav.  I like China Glaze better...for real.


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## DonnaD (Jul 1, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I have a random question. How old were you when you first became interested in makeup? For me it was 6th grade. A friend and I would sit in class and experiment with lip glosses and eye shadows and I've been hooked ever since!


Back in the stone ages, when I was but a mere girl of 15-ish.  Freshman year of high school.  I remember the first and only foundation I wore for years was Cover Girl Clean Makeup.  I had gorgeous skin on my own but that stuff made me look like a porcelain doll.  Just the smell of it takes me back.  It's still a favourite makeup scent for me.  My favourite lipstick was Maybelline Wine on Ice...which I think they still make and my eye shadow of choice was some Maybelline Quad...smoky something or other...one of the colours was a gorgeous muted amethyst.

Want to see me at that age wearing that makeup?  Spoiler alert:  I was kinda hot back in the day.  And no, I'm not cross-eyed.





Edit:  it was cover girl sheer bare as I recall now.


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## wadedl (Jul 1, 2014)

I got in trouble for wearing makeup at a party in 7th grade. One of the 8th graders put it on my in the bathroom at pizza hut. It was blue eyeshadow and bright pink blush.

It was probably senior year of high school before I had makeup of my own. My aunts spoiled me with Makeup Forever, Shiseido and MAC.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 2, 2014)

I wasn't going to answer this question because I couldn't remember when I first started using makeup, but now it's all coming back to me! My poor mother, I borrowed a friend's mauve colored lipstick for my 5th grade school portrait...yeah I think I vaguely remember my mom wanting to kill me! But, I have to say out of all the colors I could have worn, I didn't do bad. I looked pretty cute. Then once high school hit, I kind of stopped wearing makeup. Mostly because I was taking a special class that required me to get up at like 6AM, so I chose sleep over makeup! I just started getting back into makeup in January of this year, and now I have a bigger collection than I ever had as a teenager.


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## SaraP (Jul 2, 2014)

I;m sure my first thing was lip gloss or something, but the first thing that hooked me was green/blue mascara that I took from my mom. It was 8th grade and I thought I looked so cool! :wassatt:


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## dancersmum (Jul 2, 2014)

@@DonnaD - bet you are still hot now lol! That bone structure will ensure it!!

As for me...I was never into makeup - skincare always but not make up...

I went to a make up artist for a trial many many moons ago before my wedding...no matter what I said the make up artist didn't want me to look like me...I didn't like what they did and I literally had an inch of product on my face...

I'm a bit of a control freak and I knew what I wanted for my wedding...so I went and took some lessons and I did my own make up and all my bridesmaids and mothers makeup on my wedding day. I did a pretty good job so the following year I was asked to do my brothers wedding make up for his bride and to hide the monster zit on his forehead. I enjoyed it but found it so stressful lol...

I took a massive break from make up until my little girl started requiring it for performances...but I got "serious"about it when I realised the the basics didn't cut it any more and that I needed to research as it was no longer annual dance recitals but full out stage make up that was required to last under hot lights for hours and for her to look amazing when under a spotlight. I'm terrible at certain things and very good at other re: makeup. My daughter is better with falsies and eye shadow than I will ever be but her friends want to come over and have me do their "face" before proms or balls as I can create cheekbones and define and hightlight assets pretty well now as well as make blemishes disappear and create a fantastic base for someone else to finish up (I wish I could do eyes well).

I also help at an annual event with crazy make up - I'm the go to person to turn someone into a ventriloquist dummy or if kids need mustaches etc lol - so much fun...

But honestly I started getting better in 2012...but with requirements in 2013 I got seriously into products...my house now has a ridiculous amount...and as people are always borrowing my girls stash - she has a huge "stage kit" that she will share and a small personal one that she keeps hidden for her own use... Her sharing stuff is mainly ELF and stuff from sub boxes whereas her favs are in her own stash lol


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## marigoldsue (Jul 2, 2014)

I can't really remember a time when I didn't play with makeup.  Showing my age here, but they use to make these sets for little girls that were called Tinkerbell.  I lived in a small town and I spent a lot of time in the drug store.  I always bought my mom her favorite perfume, Chantilly, there for holidays.  And I would look at all of the pretties when I was in store.  I could often talk my mom or grandma into buying these sets for me.

My first time using "real" make-up in public was in 6th grade.  I had a male teacher and a lot of the other girls were afraid to wear makeup to school.  No one had done it yet, so I decided to show them I wasn't afraid and went to school with lipstick, eyeshadow and mascara on one day.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 2, 2014)

I got off to a bit of a slow start in shopping for my buddy.  She is one of those "I like everything" people, which I thought would make it easy to shop for her.  Instead it has made it hard for me to make decisions on what way I want to go with her gift.  I have finally chosen the direction I want to go (kind of) and I have been making up for lost time the last few days!  I am getting kind of excited about some of the things I have found for her.  I am also getting a little worried that I may need to cut back a bit.  I had lots of store credits, birchbox points and gift cards that I could use on top of the $25.  Plus I have an insane "stash".  But there is such a thing as overkill, right?  Right? Or maybe not....lol


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## Lolo22 (Jul 2, 2014)

My first memories of makeup are from middle school.  You were not *cool* if you didn't have a Cover Girl compact that you carried around everywhere. I've always had dry skin so piling on powder just made me look ridiculous lol! Then I remember wearing mascara and having to wash it off before my parents got home since I wasn't allowed to wear it. I think finally when my mom caught me sneaking around with her curling iron (which I wasn't allowed to use either - because of danger, not how it looked) she realized it was probably the least of her worries and she caved and let me wear makeup.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 2, 2014)

My mom sold Mary Kay when I was younger, so there was always makeup to play with in the house.  Other than playing, I don't think I went too makeup crazy until college and then even more when I found sub boxes!


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## meaganola (Jul 2, 2014)

@@marigoldsue Non-specific wishlists have driven me to tears in the past! I come from people who give cash because we lack the ability to shop without a list. I lucked out this time around and got someone whose list doesn't have a whole lot of specifics *but* has a few general concepts I can roll with.


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## lacylei (Jul 2, 2014)

I experimented with makeup in jr high, when grunge was big. All I remember was lots of powder and dark thick lipstick. After that I didn't do much of any makeup (unless going out and then it was basic cover girl) until I hit 30. Sigh.. so many things to cover up now lol dark circles and redness, one gray eyelash wtf.. in the last 6 months or so makeup has become my hobby. its an easy everyday way for me to do something for myself in semi peace. (I am a single mom of an almost 3 yr old so defiantly not complete peace but good enough)


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## trekkersangel (Jul 2, 2014)

My mom sold Mary Kay when I was a kid too.  We always had make-up around the house.  I don't think I was officially "allowed" to wear it until I was 12 &amp; even then it was a gradual thing.  I could wear lip gloss at 12, mascara at 14, blush at 16, &amp; everything else at 18.  I don't know why my mom chose those particular items for those particular years, but it worked.

Now I'm obsessed with everything.  I have 3 girls one of which turns 12 this year.  I'm still undecided on how the "make-up" rules are going to play out for them.  We'll have to play it by ear I guess.  Knowing me, I'll do the same thing my mom did because it worked just fine.    I just want to make sure my girls know that they are beautiful without make-up because they are beautiful both inside &amp; out &amp; that they don't need make-up to feel accepted or beautiful.  But I also want them to know that make-up is an art form &amp; a way of self expression.  Sometimes being a mom is hard.  Sometimes I just hope &amp; pray my kids turn out right.  ha ha ha.


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 2, 2014)

I got into makeup somewhere in middle/early high school, so much so that I wanted to do makeup, I got my license and did hair in college (worked at a shampoo girl in high school and college before I was licensed). I didn't realize that you have to go to a whole other school for skin/makeup. The hair dressers at the salon I worked in encouraged me not to get into hair for a long term career.  I started at community college not really knowing what to do, but then ended up at university and got a degree in Marketing.  I've always been interested in makeup. I had a life long dream of moving to NYC and becoming a makeup artist and wearing all black. ha!

Now, I work for a software company, but I don't consider myself a techie. I have a love/hate relationship with the "software/dev" work ethic/style/culture, shall we say. While I agree these folks are smart and it's cool to have a flexible, "cool" work environment, I've encountered many with a ME FIRST work ethic that doesn't necessarily align with the needs of business.  It's unprofessional to have to cover for someone who is sleeping during the day because they spent all night coding/committing because that's when they say they're "most productive."  

Designer item vs Makeup. Sure, I'm game. I like Ralph Lauren preppy, nautical and classic style, but I have nothing in my wardrobe or accessories that really reflects it.


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## button6004 (Jul 2, 2014)

I am a Kate Spade ADDICT. I just ordered myself an iPhone 4s Kate Spade case off of ebay. I looooove Kate Spade!


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## SaraP (Jul 2, 2014)

I really like Kate Spade too, I like the simple classic looks they put out. I think even the funner things are still classic. I also love Betsy Johnson jewelry, it's fun, crazy and not so serious.


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## SaraP (Jul 2, 2014)

I think I've finished shopping! I have one more thing coming from etsy. I've also been on a no buy and it's gone really well. The thought that someone is shopping for me and not wanting to mess up their gift by purchasing a want has kept me inline :smilehappyyes: Well I did get a new wallet, but that was a necessity as I lost 2 of my cards last week :scared:


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## CurlyTails (Jul 2, 2014)

Another order came in for my Swapbuddy today! I have one order left and then I am done!  Now to find a way to fit everything into the box.


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## Dashery (Jul 2, 2014)

Yay! I bought another item for my swap! I've been buying little by little, one item at a time. It's coming together slowly but surely. 

As for when I got into makeup...I don't really remember. I started wearing a little makeup in middle school, but it was until this past fall that I really got into makeup. I had a lot of free time and I watched all of Bunny Meyer's videos at once. It got me interested in all of these new, shiny brands.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 2, 2014)

I've got a couple items arriving today, but I tried to place a Birchbox order last night and I was a little irked to notice none of the 20% off codes work. And they emailed me about one on June 30th that expired the same day and I didn't notice. Doesn't Birchbox know it doesn't matter how many 100 point subscription codes are out there, I'm not using those points without a discount code!


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## DonnaD (Jul 2, 2014)

I'm completely done unless I come across something cute I must add.  I'm just waiting for shipping.    Maybe she'll start participating between now and next month lol.


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## DonnaD (Jul 2, 2014)

Dashery said:


> I watched all of Bunny Meyer's videos at once


 
I freakin' love her but her tweenie following drives me batshit.  Someone needs to teach those little girls some manners.


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## Dashery (Jul 2, 2014)

@@DonnaD True, true.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I've developed the habit of avoiding youtube commments at all costs.


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## trekkersangel (Jul 2, 2014)

I've finally decided on a theme for my gift &amp; I'm really super excited about it actually.  There is one gift in particular that I have my fingers crossed my girl likes.  I'm done shopping now &amp; just have to wait for all the pretties to arrive before I can wrap it up &amp; pack it up.  I'm excited for the end of the month when reveals start happening.


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## meaganola (Jul 2, 2014)

Dashery said:


> @@DonnaD True, true.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I've developed the habit of avoiding youtube commments at all costs.


One of these days, I'm getting this tote bag:

http://www.foodfightgrocery.com/never-read-the-comments-tote/


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## Kelli (Jul 2, 2014)

I'm not sure exactly when I got into make up, but my mom was very laid back about it. She said all the girls in her school would sneak makeup at school and stuff and she'd much rather have me do it at home so she could see what I was wearing and not have me being sneaky about it.

I remember, in the 90's, there were these shiny, black plastic with gold paint makeup kits. They'd usually have some eyeshadows, blushes and maybe a small mascara and eyeliner. In fifth grade, I remember putting on the mascara from one that I had gotten, and in class we had a "heads down" time. After that when we were going to recess, my teacher asked me to stay back. OMG. Was I freaking out. I was the good girl who never got in trouble, so I didn't know wtf was going on. Once everyone left, my male teacher told me I had makeup smeared under my eyes, so I could go wash it off before heading to recess. I think that traumatized me for a while, because I remember only really wearing nail polish for a few years after that LOL


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## SaraP (Jul 2, 2014)

What a sweet teacher!


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## Christa W (Jul 2, 2014)

In think the first time I wore makeup was my 7th grade school photo. My mom lent me her sweater and earrings and did my makeup. I was never not allowed to wear it, I think my mom wanted me to since I was such a tomboy. There wasn't videos back then as this was circa 1988/89. I should post that pic you all might get a kick out of it.

Found it!


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## jesemiaud (Jul 2, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> My mom sold Mary Kay when I was a kid too.  We always had make-up around the house.  I don't think I was officially "allowed" to wear it until I was 12 &amp; even then it was a gradual thing.  I could wear lip gloss at 12, mascara at 14, blush at 16, &amp; everything else at 18.  I don't know why my mom chose those particular items for those particular years, but it worked.
> 
> Now I'm obsessed with everything.  I have 3 girls one of which turns 12 this year.  I'm still undecided on how the "make-up" rules are going to play out for them.  We'll have to play it by ear I guess.  Knowing me, I'll do the same thing my mom did because it worked just fine.    I just want to make sure my girls know that they are beautiful without make-up because they are beautiful both inside &amp; out &amp; that they don't need make-up to feel accepted or beautiful.  But I also want them to know that make-up is an art form &amp; a way of self expression.  Sometimes being a mom is hard.  Sometimes I just hope &amp; pray my kids turn out right.  ha ha ha.


My three girls are 15, 17 &amp; 19 and we did something similar. When they were in 7th grade, they could wear lip color and eye shadow. They could use lip balm and sheer gloss prior to that. When they got into high school, then they could wear what they wanted. It's worked for us; they've never gone crazy with their makeup, lol. Usually just a little mascara, eyeshadow &amp; liner and lipstick. None of them like foundation or blush, lol.


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## rachelshine (Jul 3, 2014)

A theme?! Oh lord, I definitely don't have a theme besides 'OMG I think she'll like this, boom purchased'. Speaking of, I just got her something SO silly. YAY.


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## meaganola (Jul 3, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> A theme?! Oh lord, I definitely don't have a theme besides 'OMG I think she'll like this, boom purchased'. Speaking of, I just got her something SO silly. YAY.


That's pretty much my theme.  I love themes, but I started picking up random items here and there, and *boom* no discernible theme.


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## dancersmum (Jul 3, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> A theme?! Oh lord, I definitely don't have a theme besides 'OMG I think she'll like this, boom purchased'. Speaking of, I just got her something SO silly. YAY.


That's pretty much what I did too...I just am on my lunch break and spent the time trying to fit everything into the box lol...

Its all tagged and ready to go to the post office...

So so excited for my girl to get the package...but OMG I am so anxious that it actually will arrive safely as my box will have the furthest to travel (thousands of miles).


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## SaraP (Jul 3, 2014)

Is "Fit in the Box" a theme???


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## marigoldsue (Jul 3, 2014)

sarap said:


> Is "Fit in the Box" a theme???


If so, I think I may flunk the theme test.  I went to the mall tonight and did some damage with some store credits I had.  And the mall closed before I made it to Nordstrom.  Can't decide if I will go back this weekend or wait until the Nordstrom Anniversary sale.  Oh who am I kidding?  I will most likely do both!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 3, 2014)

sarap said:


> Is "Fit in the Box" a theme???


It turns out I do have a theme, then!


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## jennm149 (Jul 3, 2014)

I have to admit that I have "themes" for my boxes.  But they are so generic that when I thought there might be an issue with the packaging materials for my midsummer swap box getting here on time to ship out next week, I soothed myself by realizing that I could just switch them.

I didn't buy things to fit the theme -- I just figured out a theme that fit the gifts.


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## kawaiisofoxy (Jul 3, 2014)

If it helps with the "theme" thing, I didn't have a theme with the gifts I gave to my Midsummer Fairy Godchild, but I *did* do a theme with wrapping paper and the little sticky notes I put on the outside of each gift!  For me, it made the gift feel more special.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 3, 2014)

So how do people feel about dupes of things on their wishlist? I already have some big ticket things off my persons list but if they aren't brand picky I was thinking of putting some similar items of other things/colors/scents they want that aren't high end brands.  It would be more like bonus items since I really should stop shopping lol.

Me personally, I'm not picky and would love to find some drugstore dupes of things I like.  I usually just don't shop in those brands because there's too many choices and they overwhelm me.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 3, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> So how do people feel about dupes of things on their wishlist? I already have some big ticket things off my persons list but if they aren't brand picky I was thinking of putting some similar items of other things/colors/scents they want that aren't high end brands.  It would be more like bonus items since I really should stop shopping lol.
> 
> Me personally, I'm not picky and would love to find some drugstore dupes of things I like.  I usually just don't shop in those brands because there's too many choices and they overwhelm me.


I would be fine--especially if it meant I could find a cheap dupe for a favorite expensive product.


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## trekkersangel (Jul 3, 2014)

I love the dupe idea.  Smart!!!  Who doesn't love finding something similar for half the price?


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## valeried44 (Jul 3, 2014)

Yes to dupes!  I'm not picky about brands at all. 

I'm off to camp... I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July weekend!!!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 3, 2014)

Dupes are great.  I am kind of going with that idea myself.  If there was something on her wishlist that I already had similar items, I am including the similar items even if I am purchasing the one she mentioned.  I always like being able to compare products.

On a separate note...I MUST stop shopping.  The enablers thread and the new all abut indies thread are wrecking havoc.  **Dear swap buddy...if I go overboard can you only post part of what I send you in the reveals, so as not to embarrass me too much?**


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 3, 2014)

Dupes are fine with me! I actually am impressed with gals who can find dupes for high end brands.

Any coastal folks here? Our fourth of July fireworks/festivities etc. got moved to Saturday night due to hurricane Arthur.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Everyone is in a tizzy because this is the first storm of the season and we didn't have much of a hurricane season last year.


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## ashleylind (Jul 3, 2014)

I am themeless as well. I am too much of an impulse shopper for a theme.



Lolo22 said:


> So how do people feel about dupes of things on their wishlist? I already have some big ticket things off my persons list but if they aren't brand picky I was thinking of putting some similar items of other things/colors/scents they want that aren't high end brands.  It would be more like bonus items since I really should stop shopping lol.
> 
> Me personally, I'm not picky and would love to find some drugstore dupes of things I like.  I usually just don't shop in those brands because there's too many choices and they overwhelm me.


I'm fine with some dupes as well.


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## trekkersangel (Jul 3, 2014)

We are on the VA coast &amp; all of our celebrations have been cancelled as of right now! Booo! Don't they know its against the law of nature to have a hurricane on the 4th of July?


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## jennm149 (Jul 3, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> We are on the VA coast &amp; all of our celebrations have been cancelled as of right now! Booo! Don't they know its against the law of nature to have a hurricane on the 4th of July?


Stay safe!


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## jesemiaud (Jul 3, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> A theme?! Oh lord, I definitely don't have a theme besides 'OMG I think she'll like this, boom purchased'. Speaking of, I just got her something SO silly. YAY.


I'm themeless too, lol. I do have some cute containers for some of the items. I hope my swapee has a cheeky sense of humor!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />



Lolo22 said:


> So how do people feel about dupes of things on their wishlist? I already have some big ticket things off my persons list but if they aren't brand picky I was thinking of putting some similar items of other things/colors/scents they want that aren't high end brands.  It would be more like bonus items since I really should stop shopping lol.
> 
> Me personally, I'm not picky and would love to find some drugstore dupes of things I like.  I usually just don't shop in those brands because there's too many choices and they overwhelm me.


Totally fine with dupes!


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## Jac13 (Jul 3, 2014)

ummm, let's see... I started playing with makeup when I was around 13 but only was allowed to just play in it.  I would wear makeup to special events throughout high school.  I started really wearing it in college.  I took some years off and now I wear it again.  I am blessed to have really clear skin so I don't use a lot.  I love mostly wearing eye makeup and keeping everything at a minimium.

I haven't brought anything from my Swap Buddy because I am not sure what to buy her.  I did pick up a necklace and ring but not sure if she likes or wears jewelry.  She really doesn't participate on thread so....


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## Jac13 (Jul 3, 2014)

meaganola said:


> @@marigoldsue Non-specific wishlists have driven me to tears in the past! I come from people who give cash because we lack the ability to shop without a list. I lucked out this time around and got someone whose list doesn't have a whole lot of specifics *but* has a few general concepts I can roll with.


My person is too general.  I will definite have to send a roadie.  I really prefer to buy large gift and add small things but she prefers small things.  I am not good at shopping like that but I will do my best.


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## msambrosia (Jul 3, 2014)

I started wearing makeup in the 6th grade. I don't remember the brand, but I do remember my aunt giving me a makeup bag full of travel sizes. I'm sure it was gift with purchase. I used those up, then switched to wearing Cover Girl foundation. I still love the smell of CG powder! In high school, I didn't wear makeup as often because I played softball and didn't see the point. I wore makeup in college, mostly because my friends did, but never strayed away from drugstore stuff. It's only in the past six months or so that I've become super interested in owning better quality stuff.

I don't mind dupes at all. If I can find a comparable product for a cheaper price, why not?


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## meaganola (Jul 3, 2014)

I just realized my own Summerswap list is light on specifics! But! My Midsummer Dreamlist is chock full of them, and those items still stand since I've received my Midsummer gift, so I don't feel super guilty about that.

Less than three hours until I get to go home! My Shiro Cosmetics Avengers collection shod be waiting for me when I get there!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 3, 2014)

Dupes are fine by me!


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## SaraP (Jul 3, 2014)

I like dupes :wub:


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 3, 2014)

Yes to dupes!


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## DonnaD (Jul 3, 2014)

Christa W said:


> In think the first time I wore makeup was my 7th grade school photo. My mom lent me her sweater and earrings and did my makeup. I was never not allowed to wear it, I think my mom wanted me to since I was such a tomboy. There wasn't videos back then as this was circa 1988/89. I should post that pic you all might get a kick out of it.
> 
> Found it!
> 
> ...


OMG, you were adorable!  Look at all that 80's hair!


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## DonnaD (Jul 3, 2014)

A theme?  Yeah, no.  I barely even wrap the gifts.  Aside from crocheting and doing my nails, I have zero creativity with stuff like that.

I like dupes...I like everything lol.


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## BSquared (Jul 3, 2014)

Ok Im glad to see so many people have no theme. I have no theme either lol.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 3, 2014)

My theme is, "try to get her a thing from every category on her wish list" that's a good theme right?   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 3, 2014)

My theme probably is--I cannot believe all of this fits in the box!!!


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## DonnaD (Jul 3, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> My theme probably is--I cannot believe all of this fits in the box!!!


And you're really good at your theme lol.  I'm astounded how much stuff you managed to fit in mine.  You made my day!


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## Christa W (Jul 3, 2014)

I had a theme for my Secret Santa but can't seem to come up with one for this one. im trying by using extras and little things. It's not really the same but I'm sure she's going to LOVE it!!!


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## cobainrls (Jul 3, 2014)

Dupes are awesome! So how big are these boxes you guys are filling up? I feel bad because my box isn't even half full. I haven't wrapped them yet and I have only gone through my personal stash and traded for things. I haven't bought anything yet. I feel like maybe my person is going to be disappointed. I dont have BB points or anything like that stocked up. My person pretty much only has pricey stuff on her wish list.


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## cobainrls (Jul 3, 2014)

Oh I started to wear makeup in 8th grade. My dad took my to the clinique counter at the mall.


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## Christa W (Jul 3, 2014)

I don't have a box yet. I bought a super cute makeup bag I've been filling... I plan on flat rate shipping if I can. Hoping this fits in a med sized box.


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## BSquared (Jul 3, 2014)

I don't have a box yet either!! Unless I use an old box from an order I got or something, although flat rate is probably cheaper.

Can you mail nail polish via flat rate? That was my only concern.

And yay for dupes!


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## DonnaD (Jul 3, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I feel like maybe my person is going to be disappointed. I dont have BB points or anything like that stocked up


I don't have anything like that either but I did have a bunch of amazon gift cards from swagbucks which helped me with both summer swap and @puppymomofthree.  What I did is buy something for the $25+ they both have listed on their midsummer's lists and then I made something and added a bunch of smaller things that I thought they might like based on their lists.  The box for puppy mom is the large flat rate priority cube box that ships for $17 some dollars.  And I'll probably use the same size box for my summer swap buddy.  

I do have a little "hope they like it" anxiety though.


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## msambrosia (Jul 3, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> Dupes are awesome! So how big are these boxes you guys are filling up? I feel bad because my box isn't even half full. I haven't wrapped them yet and I have only gone through my personal stash and traded for things. I haven't bought anything yet. I feel like maybe my person is going to be disappointed. I dont have BB points or anything like that stocked up. My person pretty much only has pricey stuff on her wish list.


I feel the same way. This is my first big swap on here and I'm nervous about the stuff I've gotten. I did get a few things from my person's wish list, but the information I was given was pretty sparse. Most of the things listed were pricey and without any points or gift cards to use, I'm worried that I haven't gotten enough. I do have a big stash of drugstore stuff, so I did include some of those things, but based upon the types of things my person seems to like, I'm not sure if she'll be happy with drugstore products.


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## chelsealady (Jul 3, 2014)

I sorta have a theme but I'm afraid to say because she might guess that it is her.

I didn't really get into makeup till the last few years. My mom didn't get makeup so there wasn't any around to play with. Then one day I looked in the mirror and said you need help. So I started looking for what I needed.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 3, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> I feel the same way. This is my first big swap on here and I'm nervous about the stuff I've gotten. I did get a few things from my person's wish list, but the information I was given was pretty sparse. Most of the things listed were pricey and without any points or gift cards to use, I'm worried that I haven't gotten enough. I do have a big stash of drugstore stuff, so I did include some of those things, but based upon the types of things my person seems to like, I'm not sure if she'll be happy with drugstore products.


I am one of those people that does not shop a lot of drugstore brands.  I will be just as happy (maybe even happier) with those brands because I just don't have a lot of knowledge about them.  If someone else has already done the leg work and knows what is good, I am going to be thrilled at finding good quality items at lower price points.  I do most of my shopping online, and it just take a little more effort to research drugstore brands and make good choices.  I am not a makeup snob, just lazy and short on time.  So I go with what I know, or visit Nordstrom and let the sale associates who know me well make decisions for me.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 3, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I don't have anything like that either but I did have a bunch of amazon gift cards from swagbucks which helped me with both summer swap and @puppymomofthree. What I did is buy something for the $25+ they both have listed on their midsummer's lists and then I made something and added a bunch of smaller things that I thought they might like based on their lists. The box for puppy mom is the large flat rate priority cube box that ships for $17 some dollars. And I'll probably use the same size box for my summer swap buddy.
> 
> I do have a little "hope they like it" anxiety though.


No worrying allowed!!! I know I will love it! You are creative and cool and we are lucky to have you!!!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 3, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> I am one of those people that does not shop a lot of drugstore brands.  I will be just as happy (maybe even happier) with those brands because I just don't have a lot of knowledge about them.  If someone else has already done the leg work and knows what is good, I am going to be thrilled at finding good quality items at lower price points.  I do most of my shopping online, and it just take a little more effort to research drugstore brands and make good choices.  I am not a makeup snob, just lazy and short on time.  So I go with what I know, or visit Nordstrom and let the sale associates who know me well make decisions for me.


This is exactly how I feel. I have no drugstore knowledge and just prefer to go with higher end brands that I know and trust. But if there are great drugstore products/dupes I'd love to try them! I just tend to be a quality over quantity type of girl when it comes to shopping for myself, so I don't exactly try any drugstore brands enough to know what's good.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 3, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I feel like maybe my person is going to be disappointed. I dont have BB points or anything like that stocked up. My person pretty much only has pricey stuff on her wish list.


I hope most people realize that a lot of us with extra points and store credits and such aren't doing this swap because we want to receive lots of things.  If we rally wanted a lot, we certainly could have used the points and credits to buy things for ourselves.  But I buy tons of stuff for myself already.  The only family I have is a 17 year old son.  Shopping for him is not a lot of fun.  My friends and I don't often exchange gifts and if we do they really aren't in to make up.  For me the fun of this is putting together something for someone else.  Honestly, I kind of forget at times that I will even be getting a package.  But when I do get that package, I am sure it is going to bring me to tears.  Because no one ever really shops for me.  My son just started driving and got his first job in March.  This Mother's Day was the first time in over ten years that someone took their own time and money and bought me a gift.  Until then it was always me taking my son (or daughter) to the store and giving them money.  It's not nearly the same as receiving a gift from someone who you realize has put thought into what to get you.  It truly will be the thought that counts.


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## emilylithium (Jul 3, 2014)

i have just got into makeup for the first time. I used to only wear nail polish, if that even counts as makeup lol. I guess I am interested now since all the sub boxes keep sending them, so i like experimenting with them.

totally cool to get dupes, nice to know the alternatives!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 3, 2014)

I'm also most excited about putting together a gift for someone else. I don't really have people in my life who are that interested in makeup and it's been a lot of fun putting together things for someone who is interested in makeup as much as I am!

I've also had a blast getting to know all of the lovely ladies on this thread. I look forward to reading through this is thread each day!

I don't want my Swapbuddy to have any worries about me. I truly do love all kinds of things and what I'll love the most is that you've taken the time to put together something you'll think I like, whatever that is  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Christa W (Jul 3, 2014)

I realized I never answered the dupes question... I absolutely don't mind dupes or similar items. I don't think anyone is referring to me because on my list because I mentioned stamping plates but I even like the knock offs of those so yeah I'm all over cheaper versions of stuff.


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## meaganola (Jul 3, 2014)

Nowadays, I get distracted by the weird fun indie stuff and spend all my money there before I get around to picking up drugstore stuff (she says as she cradles her brand new complete Shiro Avengers collection).  Part of it is that it's more interesting and easier to look at indie websites on my phone.  Corporate websites are a royal pain in the ass to navigate around.  Indies tend to be more straightforward.  I just don't pay much attention to drugstore stuff simply because all of my money and attention ends up going in a different direction.  (Exception:  essence trend editions.  I usually pick up at least one item from every one of those.)


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## Kelli (Jul 3, 2014)

I like the dupe/similar items idea.

I get a little nervous about my gift, too, but everyone here is so nice and seem genuinely appreciative, so I am not as nervous as I was when I was trying to decide if I should participate.

I am one of the people who almost exclusively uses drug store stuff, so i would definitely be happy with more of that.

So, out of curiosity, have people been trying to figure out who has them? Anyone have it narrowed down? I haven't really been trying to find out or anything, but I think I remember people doing so during the Secret Santa one.


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## Christa W (Jul 3, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I like the dupe/similar items idea.
> 
> I get a little nervous about my gift, too, but everyone here is so nice and seem genuinely appreciative, so I am not as nervous as I was when I was trying to decide if I should participate.
> 
> ...


Since I'm a roadie I know who it's not!! I've kind of been guessing but I bet I'm way off!!!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 3, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I like the dupe/similar items idea.
> 
> I get a little nervous about my gift, too, but everyone here is so nice and seem genuinely appreciative, so I am not as nervous as I was when I was trying to decide if I should participate.
> 
> ...


Oh I am for sure, I'm like "ok nope it's not her, oh maybe her..."


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## trekkersangel (Jul 3, 2014)

I'm one of those that doesn't want to know who my buddy is until the package arrives.  I never get surprises so this is super fun for me.  Although I'd be happy for it to be any of you.  You all are so fun.  

I'm having more fun putting together the gift for my buddy though.  I just have to wait for it all to arrive so I can get it wrapped &amp; prettied up.  I'm excited to send it.  Part of me worries if my gal will like it, but part of me knows that everyone here is so gracious that I think anything anyone gets will be fantastic.  So much love here.


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## DonnaD (Jul 3, 2014)

Well, I gave myself away to everyone here by saying my person hasn't contributed  one single thing on this thread...I think I'm forever doomed to be matched up with the people who sign up and then never bother to participate in the festivities.   :scared:


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## DonnaD (Jul 3, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> I'm one of those that doesn't want to know who my buddy is until the package arrives.  I never get surprises so this is super fun for me.  Although I'd be happy for it to be any of you.  You all are so fun.
> 
> I'm having more fun putting together the gift for my buddy though.  I just have to wait for it all to arrive so I can get it wrapped &amp; prettied up.  I'm excited to send it.  Part of me worries if my gal will like it, but part of me knows that everyone here is so gracious that I think anything anyone gets will be fantastic.  So much love here.


I totally agree.  I really enjoyed exchanging with @@puppymomofthree with us both knowing but I love love love surprises.  So buddy, if you're here, don't give me tracking!!  Have someone watch it for you because I want the happy surprise of opening my door and finding a box!


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## BSquared (Jul 3, 2014)

I'm totally trying to guess too!! Like if someone says their person doesn't post much, ok not her because I'm here like way too much! I've had a few roadie requests too so I know it's not them. That doesn't narrow down the list much though!!

I'm starting to get the "will she like it" anxiety and the "BUY ALL THE THINGS SHE WANTS" mentality. It's hard because I'm employed, childless, and mortgage less so it's easy to spend money and justify it with "it's not for me!" I need to pick up a few small non-beauty things, one ulta order, one tinny little sephora order so I can gets few point perks I think she'll enjoy then I have to stop, or I'm veering into Michael territory lol.

If my buddy is reading this pleasssseeeeee don't stress. I will love ANYTHING, and I don't mean to make that harder for you by not saying specific things or saying "oh I like it all!" Because I know that stresses some people out. Seriously I promise I will love it and be excited. I get excited easily. Seriously, go stalk my posts and look how many exclamation points I use. I'm very excitable lol. !!!!

Edit: ok the "it's easy for me to spend money" sounded kinda snotty. I am faaaarrrrr from rich lol. I just mean like it's easy to spend money on my buddy instead of like saving it or buying stuff for myself. I'll stop now before this gets awkward.....


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## Dashery (Jul 3, 2014)

bsquared said:


> I'm starting to get the "will she like it" anxiety and the "BUY ALL THE THINGS SHE WANTS" mentality.


I know! I am going crazy! I have the added problem that my girl's tastes are fairly similar to mine, but whenever I pick something out, I'm like, "Am I picking this because _I_ like it or because I think _she'll_ like it?" And then I go crazy thinking about it.


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## Kelli (Jul 3, 2014)

There were some people earlier posting things like "waiting for my girl to get her midsummer gift" kind of things and since I am not participating in that I mentally crossed them off the list...but I guess my brain doesn't function as well as it did back in the day, because I can't remember who all said that haha.

I am just so excited! I love everything.  I can only think of one makeup item that I absolutely hated (the WnW Megalast LIQUID Lipstick. So. Bad. But their Megalast Lipsticks, the normal tube kind, are my favorite lipsticks LOL) and I've never had a skincare item that I hated and never had any sensitivities (aside from a coppertone sunscreen, if that counts lol), so I just love trying _everything_ and hope that my love of all things isn't causing any stress.


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## emilylithium (Jul 3, 2014)

i'm not trying to guess since i love surprises! haven't been surprised by sub boxes since I found out about spoilers.

sometimes though, when someone says they got a certain thing that their swap buddy loves, I would be like, oh, that's not for me then, but i will forget about it soon afterwards. lol


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## SaraP (Jul 3, 2014)

:flowers:   Everyone is so sweet and kind on this thread it makes my heart happy! I love you all!!! :hugs3:



cobainrls said:


> My person pretty much only has pricey stuff on her wish list.


I tend to purchase higher end items because I can try it out in the store with a tester and with my darker skin tone drugstore can be difficult to find things that work. BUT I would be happy with drugstore thing my buddy likes!!



cobainrls said:


> Oh I started to wear makeup in 8th grade. My dad took my to the clinique counter at the mall.


Awwwwe what a sweet dad!



Kelli said:


> I
> 
> So, out of curiosity, have people been trying to figure out who has them? Anyone have it narrowed down? I haven't really been trying to find out or anything, but I think I remember people doing so during the Secret Santa one.


I'm like LaLaLaLa with my fingers in my ears when ever someone gives a clue of who their person is :smilehappyyes: but I'm worried my person will figure me out after I sent a roadie in with a non makeup question...

h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> or did I??? :bandit:


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## wadedl (Jul 3, 2014)

I know I mostly have high end on my list but its only because that is all I know. I look at the prices at Rite Aid and always think I can buy... with the price of 2 and how do I know if I will like it. I get that thought pattern from last time my husband tried buying drug store hair products many years ago. He about 5 different gels which we threw away and would have spent less on his regular stuff. I would not mind drug store if its a product you know and love.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 3, 2014)

I think it's impossible to figure out your person. I'm seriously trying hard to figure out my midsummer person and I've only narrowed it down to 35 people! Lol the ladies here are wayyyy to sneaky  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jul 3, 2014)

I get a little nervous, like what if the person who has me is one of the people not participating in the thread and they aren't going to participate...not because boo-hoo I don't get a gift, but boo-hoo everyone else has some thoughtful person who has enjoyed stalking them and putting thought into a gift and get to feel all special and I won't. I'm just a worrywart/pessimist, so I always think that way haha. It's a horrible trait to have.

All that being said, it is SO fun watching the reveals unfold in the Midsummer Swap!  It is amazing how one person taking time out to pick out special stuff for one other person can bring such huge joy to so many people! Around here, you can just feel the joy throughout the entire swap community when there is a reveal. It's not just the giver and receiever, but everyone! Love that about the ladies and gents of MuT. Such a caring and fun bunch of people.


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## SaraP (Jul 3, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I get a little nervous, like what if the person who has me is one of the people not participating in the thread and they aren't going to participate...not because boo-hoo I don't get a gift, but boo-hoo everyone else has some thoughtful person who has enjoyed stalking them and putting thought into a gift and get to feel all special and I won't. I'm just a worrywart/pessimist, so I always think that way haha. It's a horrible trait to have..


If this happens (and I doubt it will!) I promise I will stalk the hell out of you and send you something great!


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## Kelli (Jul 3, 2014)

sarap said:


> If this happens (and I doubt it will!) I promise I will stalk the hell out of you and send you something great!


That's very sweet of you...though now that I look back at my post it sounds way more whiney, drama queen teenager than I meant for it to haha.

I just really want ALL of the lovely people participating to get to feel all warm and fuzzy and special. :wub:


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## SaraP (Jul 3, 2014)

I would be so sad for anyone who didn;t get a special surprise!! I'd gladly send something to any of you gals!! I truth it's kinda selfish of me...I've had so much fun stalking and planning!

*also I'm loving the MNSD exchange. The revels are so much fun!


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## lastnite629 (Jul 3, 2014)

Make-up was never off limits for me (and my younger sister) when we were growing up.  I didn't really start wearing anything until 10th grade and even then it was just powder, shadow and lip gloss.  I added eyeliner after high school.   It's only been in the last year or so that i've branched out into high end brands. I'm still trying to make myself feel comfortable trying new colors &amp; products.

I'm fine with dupes. I'm all for saving money. 

I want the person who has me to know that I really am open to anything she wants to send me.  I don't really have a wish list because I don't really know what I want and don't know a lot of the items that are out there.


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## dancersmum (Jul 3, 2014)

I'm just enjoying the stalking and the getting to know everyone...this place is so full of warmth (insert group hug emoticon as my dang computer won't let me actually do it)...

Please whoever has me don't stress...I'm easy to please!

Dupes sound great!

I actually have had so much fun putting together a package...yup I'm anxious that my gal won't love everything but I know that I loved the whole process and would do it again in a heartbeat!


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## tgooberbutt (Jul 3, 2014)

I'm still very much a make up novice. Growing up, my skin was always so broken out that it just wasn't worth trying to cake on make up to cover it all up. Frankly, it hasn't been until recently that I found a skincare regimen that's cleared me up to the point where I feel like I can wear makeup and not feel self-conscious about it sitting on top of huge, swollen pimples  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

But all this just means I have lots of catching up to do on learning how to apply things, and what products work best for my lifestyle. I found MUT through sample box services (I think I was looking for coupon codes!) and have found everyone here to be a wealth of information and help.

As for price ranges and brands and dupes on my beauty products, I shop and buy from everywhere CVS/Target/BigLots , the CCO, eBay, all the way to some splurges at Barney's - but wherever I shop, it's almost like a game to try to find the awesomest value/deal possible. Like many of the gals here, if there was something that I was really dying to get, I could probably just buy it myself, but the whole point of why i'm here is to learn from you guys and see what you all recommend. I just don't have off-line friends that I can talk to about make-up and skincare!!!


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## cobainrls (Jul 3, 2014)

Nail polish is fine..perfume is not! This was in response to the person who asked about nail polish in a flat rate box. I dont know why it didn't quote..sorry!


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## cobainrls (Jul 3, 2014)

I am just anxious because my person hasn't really giving me anything..even with roadies. So now, I am trying to guess. Plus, I don't have BB points stocked up or anything like that so my person isn't going to get alot of stuff. I want to spoil my person but, I just don't have 50 or 100 dollars to spend  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I have to remember about shipping as well. It is too hot to send chocolate so that is out of the question as well. I just feel like I am not a good swap buddy. I know I don't comment alot but, I do read the posts..every single email!


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## klg534 (Jul 3, 2014)

Send me all the dupes! (cheap versions of awesome stuff, duh sounds great!) And my mom never wore makeup unless she was going to a wedding or something. So I rarely wore it, to busy playing sports. Until about two years ago when I found this forum and sub boxes. I legit have SO much makeup now. Haha


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## jesemiaud (Jul 3, 2014)

I'm just so sad for those who signed up that aren't participating. This has been such a fun experience! I'm so glad I decided to do it...It makes me wonder why one signs up for something like this and not join in the fun. 

I hope my swapper isn't stressed. I'm really easy to please and hopefully gave plenty of input. Send in a roadie if you have questions...but I'll be thrilled with anything. Just like many others have said before me, it so nice to have a surprise coming. My family is terrible gift givers and I typically end up buying my own gifts and handing them to hubby and telling him to wrap it up, lol. It such an awesome feeling knowing that someone out there is making an effort to create a special something just for me.


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## tgooberbutt (Jul 3, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I am just anxious because my person hasn't really giving me anything..even with roadies. So now, I am trying to guess. Plus, I don't have BB points stocked up or anything like that so my person isn't going to get alot of stuff. I want to spoil my person but, I just don't have 50 or 100 dollars to spend  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I have to remember about shipping as well. It is too hot to send chocolate so that is out of the question as well. I just feel like I am not a good swap buddy. I know I don't comment alot but, I do read the posts..every single email!


Oh, you'll be fine. Besides, I think the dollar limit on this swap was $25, no? Or am I totally making that up?

That being said, There are probably a lot of creative things you can tack on to make the present extra special:


I'll be baking some unique cookies and snacks for my buddy,
You can probably trade for a lot of extras/filler gifts with the good folks on this site,
Hit up a couple of make-up counters and ask for samples of things your swap buddy might like!
And if you're worried about shipping, If you keep your present light (13oz or less) you can ship via USPS first class mail, which will run you at most $5 if you buy the postage through PayPal. Above 13oz, and your best bet is to have a small present that will fit in a USPS small flat-rate Priority Mail box - and that's about $6 through PayPal.   

Don't fret too much about the priceyness of the swap - just be thoughtful about the items you put in there. Show that you put thought and consideration in choosing a few key items, and write her an explanation of why you chose those things for her based on what you could learn about her. Think of yourself as a curator, not a shopping gofer!


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## dancersmum (Jul 3, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I am just anxious because my person hasn't really giving me anything..even with roadies. So now, I am trying to guess. Plus, I don't have BB points stocked up or anything like that so my person isn't going to get alot of stuff. I want to spoil my person but, I just don't have 50 or 100 dollars to spend  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I have to remember about shipping as well. It is too hot to send chocolate so that is out of the question as well. I just feel like I am not a good swap buddy. I know I don't comment alot but, I do read the posts..every single email!


I honestly don't think its about the "stuff" so much but more that someone out there is bothering to get a little treat that's just for me! Its not about the dollar value and we all agreed on $25 so please don't stress. There are many ways to spoil a person - for me a good old fashioned letter for example would be awesome. For me the value in this swap has truly been the fun of having online discussions and the sharing...I don't have anyone in real life that I would actually be able to talk to about skincare &amp; makeup. I feel like I learn so much from being around here with everyone. So many of us have very different backgrounds and interests but friendships have been started and a community (even if its an online one) is being built... I never had many girlfriends growing up and am definitely enjoy the bonding that is happening!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 4, 2014)

I know the Michaels who go above and beyond might make people uncomfortable, but don't forget that we agreed on a $25 limit and that your buddy will be so flattered that you took your valuable time to shop just for her! That time, effort, brain energy is worth way more than $25 to me!

For both Midsummer and Summerswap I definitely pooled my resources together. Because of the impending move, a good part of my stash has gone to both ladies. I also have way more BB points than desires (what's wrong with me?) so that helped. I also somehow have a crazy amount of sephora store credit. BUT, I know not everyone is in that same position! It's YOU and the love you put into your box that makes it "above and beyond"  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## wadedl (Jul 4, 2014)

I wish I could send my swap buddy a donut like I just ate! It was a german chocolate bar, chocolate cake bar with gooey coconut, caramel icing, pecans and chocolate icing drizzled on top of all that. They have the best cinnamon rolls there but that was something different than their regulars. The place is owned by these two old men and then open when they feel like it and close as soon as they sell out. I passed the place multiple times a day the whole week taking my daughter to aquatics camp and today was the first time I noticed it open.

Here are their hours, I found this pic on yelp.


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## chelsealady (Jul 4, 2014)

I participate in these swaps because people here get me. 17 bottles of red polish but thus one is a slightly different color. We must have it.

Plus it is the whole experience. People getting excited about the swap. Then you get the person. The nine million questions that get thrown around. The shopping. The shipping. The great reveals. I don't even care what I get. Because it is something that I didn't get myself.

If anybody doesn't get a present. Put me on the list to spoil them.


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## dancersmum (Jul 4, 2014)

has there really been someone in the past who didn't get a present...

I need on that list if that happens to someone too!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 4, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> has there really been someone in the past who didn't get a present...
> 
> I need on that list if that happens to someone too!


I don't think so? At least, not publicly. If it happens I'd hope that the MUTer would PM @@Babs28 and myself first so we can figure out what happens. I think we have people who never post in reveals or even notify their swapper they got it, which I find to be very disappointing! Hopefully we won't have that with this bunch!


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## chelsealady (Jul 4, 2014)

I want to say it happened in the nail one. But i could be wrong. If it happens here I'm sure someone will take care of it.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 4, 2014)

Someone. Help. I told myself I could go NYX crazy if it's on sale at Ulta and there's free shipping at $25. Ladies, that moment is now. BUT then I remembered I put NYX on my wishlist! Dear Swap Buddy, please send me a sign. Should I use my hall pass on my low buy or no? (Note: some of the things will not just be for me! But at 40% off you can get a ton of stuff for $25!)


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## dancersmum (Jul 4, 2014)

@

AHEM!!! You did ask us to remind you of all the set up costs and the furniture you want to buy...

Also ATTENTION if you are this lovely person swapbuddy...there is a GREAT sale at Ulta for 40% off the stuff on her wishlist...contact me if you need more info!


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## jennm149 (Jul 4, 2014)

It wouldn't surprise me if the person who was my Santee in the nails Secret Santa-- the one who never acknowledged receiving the package and then swaplifted a circular swap box -- didn't send a gift. But I thought MagicalMom indicated in a post that all of the gifts had been received, so maybe I'm being overly harsh.

If anyone should end up giftless, I have a feeling the rest of us would flock around like the biggest flock of Michaels you've ever seen.

Swap buddy - please don't stress about what to send me. I'm fine with drugstore brands.


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## Donna529 (Jul 4, 2014)

I am totally fine with dupes. Revlon, L'Oréal are my favorites but NYX pencil eyeliners are AWESOME.I am one of the general gals.I love buying for my person and for myself as long as there are no glitter anything, black eyeliners or nail polish I am happy with anything else.

I was swap lifted in reverse in a FB swap for VD. I sent my person a great box she never acknowledged (thank God for tracking), she never sent her person a gift.

I would totally pitch in if something like that happens here, God forbid.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 4, 2014)

Ok ok. Furniture. Think furniture. I can't sit on lipstick. Well I could, but my poor pants. No one wants that.


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## SaraP (Jul 4, 2014)

@ I laughed so loud that I spilled my coffee, woke up my husband and scared my dog!


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## SaraP (Jul 4, 2014)

Happy 4th of July everyone!


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## emilylithium (Jul 4, 2014)

i am just so excited about all the july 4th sales going on today! looks at i will be able to get lots of shopping done!


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## rachelshine (Jul 4, 2014)

Cross posted from the enablers thread, but another Glamour Doll Eyes Sale happening!! 34% off her eyeshadows, bringing them to just under $4 (or basically buy 2 get 1 free  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />), you'll get the July GWP too (a pretty purple) and 2 free samples! Price automatically shows up in your cart, no code needed. 

http://glamourdolleyes.storenvy.com/

*Edit - http://imgur.com/a/Nb6uv &lt;-- a few swatches I did a while back for y'all! Pistol Pistol is incredible. I forgot that I wanted a FS of it!

I might actually pass on this because I ordered from her TWICE this month and cannot justify another purchase tho I am staring longingly at Trophy Wife and Nice Kicks. *cough cough*


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## chelsealady (Jul 4, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> It wouldn't surprise me if the person who was my Santee in the nails Secret Santa-- the one who never acknowledged receiving the package and then swaplifted a circular swap box -- didn't send a gift. But I thought MagicalMom indicated in a post that all of the gifts had been received, so maybe I'm being overly harsh.
> 
> If anyone should end up giftless, I have a feeling the rest of us would flock around like the biggest flock of Michaels you've ever seen.
> 
> Swap buddy - please don't stress about what to send me. I'm fine with drugstore brands.


Maybe that is what I'm thinking about.


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## chelsealady (Jul 4, 2014)

And to the person who's got me, please don't stress. Something shiney and pretty and I'll be happy.

Today I'm overly thrilled with my butter london scallyway nail polish and my nyx Apple strudel butter gloss. But that could be the second glass of wine.


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## meaganola (Jul 4, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> It wouldn't surprise me if the person who was my Santee in the nails Secret Santa-- the one who never acknowledged receiving the package and then swaplifted a circular swap box -- didn't send a gift. But I thought MagicalMom indicated in a post that all of the gifts had been received, so maybe I'm being overly harsh.


If I recall the specific person and the end of the story correctly, the gift she sent was in fact received.  Eventually.  (The reason it sticks out in my mind is the condition that the contents were in when they were received!)


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## emilylithium (Jul 4, 2014)

just did some shopping, i love shopping for other people!

and to whoever gets me, don't fret about it, i would love to try whatever you choose for me!


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## rachelshine (Jul 4, 2014)

If anyone needs it, I have a $10 off $40 at Beauty.com, just shoot me a PM!!


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## Christa W (Jul 4, 2014)

Tons of sales going on. 50% off Red Tag items at Sally Beauty and tons if indie sales. I wish I had more money to spoil my person. I've already done some damage but could always do more!!


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## meaganola (Jul 4, 2014)

I wish my last order was here. I desperately need to just seal up the box and call it *done*.


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## tgooberbutt (Jul 4, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> And to the person who's got me, please don't stress. Something shiney and pretty and I'll be happy.
> 
> Today I'm overly thrilled with my butter london scallyway nail polish and my nyx Apple strudel butter gloss. But that could be the second glass of wine.


2nd glass of wine?! Your post before 10am?! LOL!


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## BSquared (Jul 4, 2014)

Holidays are the perfect occasions for day drinking!!


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## Lolo22 (Jul 4, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Holidays are the perfect occasions for day drinking!!


Absolutely! Soon as I'm done cleaning the bathroom I'm off to start myself!


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## meaganola (Jul 4, 2014)

Brunch mimosas! Day drinking! Breakfast Chardonnay! (If I go out for brunch with certain people, I have to be ready to write off the whole day. Three zombies by 11am = *nothing* will get done.)


----------



## Bizgirlva (Jul 4, 2014)

tgooberbutt said:


> 2nd glass of wine?! Your post before 10am?! LOL!


Darn right! It's a holiday!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 4, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Darn right! It's a holiday!


i want to like this twice!!


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## chelsealady (Jul 4, 2014)

tgooberbutt said:


> 2nd glass of wine?! Your post before 10am?! LOL!


In my defense I don't think I've ever set my posting time. It was really close to noon in real life time. Lol

Besides if you knew my in-laws you would be wondering why I wasn't on my third.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 4, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> In my defense I don't think I've ever set my posting time. It was really close to noon in real life time. Lol
> 
> Besides if you knew my in-laws you would be wondering why I wasn't on my third.


Judgement free zone here! Do what you need to do to keep your calm and stay off trial for manslaughter.


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## meaganola (Jul 4, 2014)

You know you live in a bad neighborhood when you hear sharp explosions and assume they're gunshots or cars backfiring -- and then realize they're fireworks.  My cats aren't phased *at all* by the noise.  Last night, their only reaction to the firecrackers outside was to sit in the window and watch the action across the street.  The one time they *were* freaked out by noise was the time there was an accident on the other side of the townhouse next door that resulted in a truck horn blaring nonstop for half an hour.


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## sstich79 (Jul 4, 2014)

Time to play catch-up again, or something! Been semi-AWOL with some personal craziness happening this week. So, let's see:


Not a techie at all... got a giant laptop and an iPhone 4S that I see no need to upgrade until I (inevitably) break the screen. I do want an iPad, but can't quite convince myself to pull the trigger since my laptop is perfectly fine, just big and unwieldy to carry around.
I've always worn pretty basic makeup, ever since my teen years when I used to get the cast-offs from my mom's Clinique GWPs, but I've only gotten into the fun and fancy side of it this year (mostly thanks to you lovely ladies).
Hang in there, Eastern Seaboard! Suck it, Arthur!
I don't have a "theme" so much as a silly little gimmick that sort of ties everything together. Hopefully my girl will be entertained and not think I'm a spaz!
I'm always down for a good dupe... why spend big $ if you don't have to? Half the time, when I put a spendy item on my wish list, it's just because I saw people praise it here and didn't see any mention of a cheaper dupe.
I also worry about the contents of my package. I'm trying to pick good things, but I wish I could be a Michael and go nuts with the $, or that I had a bigger and more interesting stash to shop.
'Merica!
That should about cover it for now, I think.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiisofoxy (Jul 5, 2014)

Yes all gifts were received in the Nails swap last year. However, the gift received from She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named was very blatantly thrown together last minute from her stash, and some of the items were obviously used. But this is also the person who swiped a circular swap box. Needless to say, she's now been banned from MUT.


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## chelsealady (Jul 5, 2014)

meaganola said:


> You know you live in a bad neighborhood when you hear sharp explosions and assume they're gunshots or cars backfiring -- and then realize they're fireworks. My cats aren't phased *at all* by the noise. Last night, their only reaction to the firecrackers outside was to sit in the window and watch the action across the street. The one time they *were* freaked out by noise was the time there was an accident on the other side of the townhouse next door that resulted in a truck horn blaring nonstop for half an hour.





meaganola said:


> We went and got a snow cone Thursday night. The stand is not in a bad neighborhood per say but in a questionable neighborhood. A car back fired and no less than three people hit the ground.
> 
> I laughed. I think I've become desensitized to the loud noises. Since the place is such a great character in itself.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 5, 2014)

When I was in college, my roommate put a couple of coke cans too close to the tiny freezer in our mini fridge. In the middle of the night, they exploded and blew the door open. I yelled "drive-by hit the deck" and ended up right in a pile of frozen coke. When I finally sat up, my roommate almost had a heart attack because she thought I had been shot. What happens when one spends a bit too much time in gang territory.


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## chelsealady (Jul 5, 2014)

So it is official I need a bigger box.

I pulled out what I had for my person. Raided my stash. And did a box for my sister and SIL for their respective birthdays.

Cussed a little while because none a three fit in the boxes that I had picked out.

Gave up and put it all back up.


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## BSquared (Jul 5, 2014)

Put in orders at sephora and ulta, picked up one thing at bath and body works when I was there, and now, with the exception of a handful of cheap non-beauty items, I am officially DONE SHOPPING! now to just not add stuff for the next 3 weeks!!!


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## button6004 (Jul 5, 2014)

I am back from vacation (a week visiting family in MA and RI) and catching up.

Dupes are totally fine with me. 

Honestly, I will just be happy to have a surprise gift coming around my birthday from someone who is thinking of me not because they have to, but because they want to for fun.  I have been swapping with friends to get some little additional items for my box, but I'm on a budget this month due to our vacation and I don't have any BB points right now.  I hope my buddy isn't disappointed, but I tried to hit on the things she said she liked. I figure at the very least, she will get a box of treats from a surprise friend- it may not be the most above and beyond box in the world, but it follows the rules and her likes and wants to the best of my abilities.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## bonita22 (Jul 5, 2014)

I'm fine with getting dupes.

I don't really have a theme for my gifts, I really hope she loves what I picked out for her.


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## Jac13 (Jul 5, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> When I was in college, my roommate put a couple of coke cans too close to the tiny freezer in our mini fridge. In the middle of the night, they exploded and blew the door open. I yelled "drive-by hit the deck" and ended up right in a pile of frozen coke. When I finally sat up, my roommate almost had a heart attack because she thought I had been shot. What happens when one spends a bit too much time in gang territory.


Oh my goodness. You got me in stitches! That was too funny. Rotfl


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## trekkersangel (Jul 5, 2014)

So off topic, but my sweet hubby surprised me with my birthday present today (even though my birthday is tomorrow) &amp; it was amazing! He built me a shelving unit for my bathroom (with 4 shelves &amp; 1 cupboard) &amp; told me it was for my "make up collection." I'm so lucky to have a hubby that supports my make up addiction! (&amp; I support his power tool addiction because he builds me stuff)! I've had a blast organizing all my stuff today! And now I have so much room for more additions to my "collection!" Ha ha ha. Hooray for sweet husbands!


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## Jac13 (Jul 5, 2014)

Well I did go shopping... BUT, it was just for me, lol. I picked up 2 pairs of shoes because I love them, some dresses, skinny jeans and tops. I am still deciding on what to buy. It will hit me all at once. The crazy thing I did see several items for my future nail secret Santa.


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## Jac13 (Jul 5, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> So off topic, but my sweet hubby surprised me with my birthday present today (even though my birthday is tomorrow) &amp; it was amazing! He built me a shelving unit for my bathroom (with 4 shelves &amp; 1 cupboard) &amp; told me it was for my "make up collection." I'm so lucky to have a hubby that supports my make up addiction! (&amp; I support his power tool addiction because he builds me stuff)! I've had a blast organizing all my stuff today! And now I have so much room for more additions to my "collection!" Ha ha ha. Hooray for sweet husbands!


Happy Early Birthday!!! It is always nice to be able to display your makeup. It makes me happy to see my lovelies on display, lol. Thumbs up for awesome husbands.


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## Jac13 (Jul 5, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Absolutely! Soon as I'm done cleaning the bathroom I'm off to start myself!


Nothing wrong with a little bubbly. Relax and enjoy.


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## dancersmum (Jul 6, 2014)

@@trekkersangel HAPPY BIRTHDAY! - its already sunday here so I'm guessing I'm on time  :flowers:

Hope you have a lovely day with your lovely husband.


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## bonita22 (Jul 6, 2014)

Happy Birthday @@trekkersangel!


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## cg0112358 (Jul 6, 2014)

Just got back from a rather exhausting vacation and trying to catch up.

Techie: Yes, although less so that when I was younger. I was raised on tech, which in the 80's was not common. I could fix computers by the time I was in middle school and built my first one when I was 14. In our house we have the basics (smart phones - Androids), 2 laptop computers, 3 desktop computers, a Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, Google Tablet, and a tablet computer (with stylus). I think that's it.

Birthday: coming up, July 29th! The end of July/beginning of August is kinda rough on our budget. Starting on the 21st we have our anniversary (10th!), then my birthday followed a few days later by my son's birthday and then two weeks later my daughter's birthday.

Drugstore dupes: Love them! I'm all about saving money but I do have to admit that there are times when cheap value = cheap quality so I do often splurge.


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## tulosai (Jul 6, 2014)

Okay so I have to do major catch up here... sorry I've been so scarce!

Fave summer thing:  fireflies, swimming pool,longer days, and ice cream!

Birthday: February close to Valentine's day unfortunately.

I am not  techie.  I have a smartphone but it is low quality as they go- some kind of android.  I also have a 3 year old kindle fire and a 4 or 5 year old laptop that is falling apart.

I got interested in makeup actually really recently- within the past 2 years.  I wore a lot of nail polish since maybe 3rd or 4th grade but never much makeup.



jesemiaud said:


> Came home to a couple of packages for my swap buddy and so frustrated! I ordered something from Birchbox that was on her list and it came damaged. I contacted them and they are sending a replacement. I was kind of hoping they would let me keep the damaged item, but they asked me to send it back, lol.
> 
> I also ordered a one of the create your own Fortune Cookie whipped cream and they sent me the wrong scent. They are letting me keep the wrong one, but I don't think the scent sounds great, lol.
> 
> So hypothetically, would you enjoy a scent that was Vanilla Hazelnut &amp; Chai Tea?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I would enjoy hazelnut and chai! As for BB I am sorry that happened- did they at least pay return shipping???



sarap said:


> I have another question... If you could get a item from a designer you really love vs a top makeup want (still getting a ton of makeup goodies) would you want something non-makeup related as the big item????


I definitely would not mind a designer item as the main item.  Whatever works for my buddy.



Lolo22 said:


> So how do people feel about dupes of things on their wishlist? I already have some big ticket things off my persons list but if they aren't brand picky I was thinking of putting some similar items of other things/colors/scents they want that aren't high end brands.  It would be more like bonus items since I really should stop shopping lol.
> 
> Me personally, I'm not picky and would love to find some drugstore dupes of things I like.  I usually just don't shop in those brands because there's too many choices and they overwhelm me.


I'd love some dupes!


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## jocedun (Jul 6, 2014)

I haven't had the time to keep up with this thread or post very much, so I hope my swapbuddy isn't frustrated with me! 

Whoever my swapbuddy is, I hope they aren't worried about what to send me. I'm super easy to please, I love products of all kinds (high end, drugstore, sample sizes, homemade, etc). It would break my heart if someone was stressed out about spending lots of money on me or feeling like their gift isn't up to par! 

Anywho, I am planning on purchasing the goodies for my swapbuddy tomorrow! I am so anxious to just ship it out and hope that she enjoys everything.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## DonnaD (Jul 6, 2014)

And a big ol' Happy Birthday to the best roadie ever!  @@trekkersangel


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## wadedl (Jul 6, 2014)

Did the surveys we did ever get sent out? I never received mine and I woul like it before I finalize my package.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 6, 2014)

wadedl said:


> Did the surveys we did ever get sent out? I never received mine and I woul like it before I finalize my package.


Hi, we made a few posts regarding this. We found that most Swappers had basically the same information in both their self generated summer swap lists and in their survey answers (and sometimes a hell of a lot less info in the survey answers). If you are still seeking assistance, please pm me or @@Babs28 with your swap buddy's name.


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## valeried44 (Jul 6, 2014)

@trekkersangel...  Happy Birthday!!  I hope you are having a wonderful day!


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## cg0112358 (Jul 6, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Nowadays, I get distracted by the weird fun indie stuff and spend all my money there before I get around to picking up drugstore stuff *(she says as she cradles her brand new complete Shiro Avengers collection)*.  Part of it is that it's more interesting and easier to look at indie websites on my phone.  Corporate websites are a royal pain in the ass to navigate around.  Indies tend to be more straightforward.  I just don't pay much attention to drugstore stuff simply because all of my money and attention ends up going in a different direction.  (Exception:  essence trend editions.  I usually pick up at least one item from every one of those.)


Are you planning to swatch them? Review them? I need to know... I am a major Avengers fan and feel like I need those in my life for no other reason that their names. I also love the fact that you can order the set in different sizes (i.e., different budgets).


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## valeried44 (Jul 6, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> Birthday: coming up, July 29th! The end of July/beginning of August is kinda rough on our budget. Starting on the 21st we have our anniversary (10th!), then my birthday followed a few days later by my son's birthday and then two weeks later my daughter's birthday.


Hooray!  We're birthday buddies!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## BSquared (Jul 6, 2014)

Happy birthday @@trekkersangel!!


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## meaganola (Jul 6, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> Are you planning to swatch them? Review them? I need to know... I am a major Avengers fan and feel like I need those in my life for no other reason that their names. I also love the fact that you can order the set in different sizes (i.e., different budgets).


Probably next weekend while I'm bingewatching the second season of _Hemlock Grove_.  I'm cleaning my apartment today and preparing to sit on my ass and accomplish nothing but the aforementioned marathoning all next weekend, and evenings this week are going to be sit-there-and-drool nights because we're down a person at work again this week due to vacation.  Swatches will go in the indie thread!


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## Dashery (Jul 6, 2014)

Happy happy birthdays, @trekkersangel and @valeried44!


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## valeried44 (Jul 6, 2014)

To my summerswap buddy:  I really hope that you are not stressing over what to get me.  Like others here, I will be thrilled with anything.  Just the thought of wonderful you choosing something for little ol' me puts a smile on my face.


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## DonnaD (Jul 6, 2014)

wadedl said:


> Did the surveys we did ever get sent out? I never received mine and I woul like it before I finalize my package.


We still haven't gotten addresses either.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 6, 2014)

Yes, I think addresses would be helpful.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 6, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> Yes, I think addresses would be helpful.






DonnaD said:


> We still haven't gotten addresses either.


Right, we have purposely not sent out addresses either to the group. We want to maintain that everyone ships in the same period so we can share in the reveals together!

Don't worry guys, we have our plans set   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> We haven't forgotten about important things like sending out addresses   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. I know that addresses are important.

If anyone has any issues, please send @Babs28 or myself a PM.


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## Babs28 (Jul 6, 2014)

Yes, I'm sure addresses would be helpful so would extra time in my day! As I have mentioned before, what would normally be a quiet time for me at work has blown up into me working until 11pm or later each day and and on weekends due to the ISIS crisis in Iraq (I work for the government) and Jess is working on her thesis. I had HOPED people will bear with us while this is going on but it seems not. addresses will go out with plenty of time for shipping.

As usofjessamerica explained in the post above and I have explained in another post, the questions that were asked in the sign up survey have been answered here and in peoples' wish lists. It's redundant and a waste of precious time neither one of us has to send them out in individual PMs.

What started out as something fun had turned into a nightmare with some of the PMs I have received.

Once addresses are sent, feel free to send your packages as you want. I'll post a reveal thread and then I'm DONE.


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## SaraP (Jul 6, 2014)

The one thing I remember from the survey that hasn't been asked here is what are your allergies....

I'm allergic to Cats, Nickel, and Retinol Eye Creams *if my swap buddy has kitties just let me know and I'll open the box out side. =)

*Again BIG thanks to you girls for ALLLLLLL your hard work!!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 6, 2014)

I'm allergic to some perfumes, typically alcohol-based ones I think. And I did have a bad reaction to some Sephora brand eyeliners a couple of months ago. I haven't had any reactions to any other liners, though. I'm good with pretty much everything else!


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## Christa W (Jul 6, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Yes, I'm sure addresses would be helpful so would extra time in my day! As I have mentioned before, what would normally be a quiet time for me at work has blown up into me working until 11pm or later each day and and on weekends due to the ISIS crisis in Iraq (I work for the government) and Jess is working on her thesis. I had HOPED people will bear with us while this is going on but it seems not. addresses will go out with plenty of time for shipping.
> 
> As usofjessamerica explained in the post above and I have explained in another post, the questions that were asked in the sign up survey have been answered here and in peoples' wish lists. It's redundant and a waste of precious time neither one of us has to send them out in individual PMs.
> 
> ...


This makes me incredibly sad.  If you guys need some help there are some of us out there with less important stuff going on.  Being a roadie so far has been awesome and if you need help let us know.  The last thing I'd want to see out of this is the two of you having a bad experience for organizing one for us...

To everyone else... if there is something you didn't mention in the thread but put on your list... please speak up now.  I for one, mentioned a brand I didn't like as Julep... I think that was the only thing on there that really wasn't mentioned in my list or in this thread.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 6, 2014)

Do roadies have access to the survey? Because my person hasn't been online for a while, and I know why, but I don't think she'll be on to answer her allergies and that's one thing I definitely wanted to double check before I went further with my gift.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 6, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> Do roadies have access to the survey? Because my person hasn't been online for a while, and I know why, but I don't think she'll be on to answer her allergies and that's one thing I definitely wanted to double check before I went further with my gift.


Not as such, since it has addresses and all! Please feel free to PM me or babs or a roadie if you just need that one question answered and they dont peep up over here. 

But thanks @@SaraP for bringing up allergies as a discussion question! Ummmmm...allergies. There's definitely something in Beauty Protect's products (and a ton of other hair products like Gloss Moderne and the Yes To! line) that turn my scalp into both a dry and pimpley mess. its nasty, ya'll . I've cooled it with hair products and only use Trader Joe's shampoo and conditioner and little else. Besides that I don't think I have any other allergies, preferences - that's another list, but i think thats it? I'm also pretty cautious with skincare since I kinda know what works for me. I've been wanting to get another memebox in hopes I'll get another Dream Bounce Cheese Cream or whatever, but then I'd be stuck with a bunch of products I'm too scared to use!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Ok that's my writing break for now! Hopefully that helps. If anyone wants to know about the Empowerment Zone, Renewal Community, or Enterprise Community tax benefits and their implications on 3 selected cities, send me a PM and I'll give you my 55+ page thesis.


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## BSquared (Jul 6, 2014)

I also want to thank our coordinators!! I bet it's a ton of work and I know I appreciate it and I'm sure everyone else does too! You ladies have done a great job!

And I THINK I mentioned allergies in my post, but in case I didn't: pineapple (it's oral, I won't die or anything but I just couldn't eat it) and bismuth oxychloride. Salicylic acid breaks me out pretty badly. Other than that I'll slap just about anything on my face, and probably eat even more things!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Edit: oh and I don't eat ground meat. But ummm that would be weird if someone sent me ground meat lol


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## jesemiaud (Jul 6, 2014)

Sorry that our coordinators are stressed!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

Allergies is a good question! I think I've mentioned that I have a crap-ton of food allergies, so I prefer no food. I don't really have any other allergies except penicillin. Please don't send penicillin!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 6, 2014)

jesemiaud said:


> Sorry that our coordinators are stressed!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> Allergies is a good question! I think I've mentioned that I have a crap-ton of food allergies, so I prefer no food. I don't really have any other allergies except penicillin. Please don't send penicillin!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


My mom is allergic to penicillin!! When I was a kid, thinking of my mom's allergy made me VERY VERY SAD but I have no clue why!


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## Kelli (Jul 6, 2014)

I don't have any allergies, except hay fever type of stuff, so as long as you don't send me your lawn clippings, we're good  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

ETA: Honestly, even my hay fever is fairly mild, so really no allergies to anything you would be sending me, I'm sure.


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## valeried44 (Jul 6, 2014)

I don't have any allergies other than seasonal allergies. Mold, ragweed, etc.   

Yes, a big thank you to Babs28 and usofjessamerica for coordinating this!  I really don't think that any one of us means to be a big pain in the rear.  Many of us are first-timers and are a little excited about things.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## trekkersangel (Jul 6, 2014)

No allergies here.  Send whatever you want to me.  I'll take it all!!!  ha ha ha.

I'm getting excited for the reveals even if they're a few weeks away.  I think they're going to be SUPER exciting.  I can't wait to load up my nightstand with chocolate, get some ice cold water or milk (mmmm. . . ice cold milk. . . farm girl at heart here), &amp; just look at all the pretty pictures in the reveals.  I've been watching the mid-summer night reveal thread &amp; it makes me so happy.  You can't help but smile looking at all the pretties. . . .not to mention all the thought that has gone into the gifts.  It's truly magical &amp; I KNOW our reveal thread is going to be magical too.  I think everyone here is magical &amp; wonderful &amp; fun &amp; I can't wait to get to know each &amp; every one of your through the gifts you send your girls.  It's going to be fun!!!

*edited for spelling errors!  good heavens!  Am I 3 years old?* ha ha ha


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## DonnaD (Jul 6, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Yes, I'm sure addresses would be helpful so would extra time in my day! As I have mentioned before, what would normally be a quiet time for me at work has blown up into me working until 11pm or later each day and and on weekends due to the ISIS crisis in Iraq (I work for the government) and Jess is working on her thesis. I had HOPED people will bear with us while this is going on but it seems not. addresses will go out with plenty of time for shipping.
> 
> As usofjessamerica explained in the post above and I have explained in another post, the questions that were asked in the sign up survey have been answered here and in peoples' wish lists. It's redundant and a waste of precious time neither one of us has to send them out in individual PMs.
> 
> ...


I'm sorry you're feeling so frustrated.  If you need help, I'm happy to offer whatever assistance I can.  I'm always home by 1 PM and I'm up until at least midnight so my availability is pretty good.

Allergies:  I'm allergic to cats but we have 6 of them so it's moot.


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## sstich79 (Jul 6, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Yes, I'm sure addresses would be helpful so would extra time in my day! As I have mentioned before, what would normally be a quiet time for me at work has blown up into me working until 11pm or later each day and and on weekends due to the ISIS crisis in Iraq (I work for the government) and Jess is working on her thesis. I had HOPED people will bear with us while this is going on but it seems not. addresses will go out with plenty of time for shipping.
> 
> As usofjessamerica explained in the post above and I have explained in another post, the questions that were asked in the sign up survey have been answered here and in peoples' wish lists. It's redundant and a waste of precious time neither one of us has to send them out in individual PMs.
> 
> ...


Aw... as others have said, this makes me so sad! No need for negativity in what's meant to be an uplifting experience for everyone. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!


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## bonita22 (Jul 6, 2014)

Thanks for organizing this swap @@Babs28 &amp;

@! I'm here to help if you need it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

To my swap buddy, I don't have any allergies.


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 6, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> Yes, I'm sure addresses would be helpful so would extra time in my day! As I have mentioned before, what would normally be a quiet time for me at work has blown up into me working until 11pm or later each day and and on weekends due to the ISIS crisis in Iraq (I work for the government) and Jess is working on her thesis. I had HOPED people will bear with us while this is going on but it seems not. addresses will go out with plenty of time for shipping.
> 
> As usofjessamerica explained in the post above and I have explained in another post, the questions that were asked in the sign up survey have been answered here and in peoples' wish lists. It's redundant and a waste of precious time neither one of us has to send them out in individual PMs.
> 
> ...


Whoa I don't know how I feel about all of this, I was wondering the same things re: survey, addresses, etc. but I figured I'd find out when I need to know.

I try to follow this thread but it moves fast, and frankly we're ALL busy/can use extra time in the day.

I realize this is an undertaking and I'm sure it's been a handful, but I'm feeling a little less excited now, I'd planned to send something to my buddy early-ish, but guess I'll modify my plans. Bummers.


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## bonita22 (Jul 6, 2014)

valeried44 said:


> Hooray! We're birthday buddies!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Happy (early) Birthday @@valeried44 &amp; @@cg0112358!


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## lastnite629 (Jul 7, 2014)

Yes, Thank you to @usofjessamerica  &amp; @@Babs28 for coordinating the swap!

Allergies:  Aloe vera. 

Perfume &amp; cologne are migraine triggers for me. One sniff is all it takes.


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## cobainrls (Jul 7, 2014)

So I finally settled on the beauty items I am getting my person! I feel so much better now! Gonna do some damage on Friday when I get paid! Only thing is it is too hot to send chocolate :/


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## Momma4 (Jul 7, 2014)

Whoever has me, I have no allergies but my one year old is allergic to nuts.  Also, I know I am not on much but my life is so crazy right now with an 8 yr old, 4 yr old with special needs, 2 year old, and 1 year old.  Not to mention a husband that is out of state for another 6 weeks.  I am easy to please, so easy, but not in a slutty way   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I love nail polish, bright eyeliner, and mascara, you could never go wrong with those things.  Hope everyone just tries to distress, breathe, and have fun with it.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 7, 2014)

I don't remember what I said in my survey but I'm not allergic to anything.  As far as any brands or products I do/don't like, really there are so many more that I like/love/would love to try than not.  I'm just not a fan of sunscreen because it breaks me out.  Anything else is fair game!  I wear all types of makeup and use all types of hair/body/skin stuff so there is very little I exclude.


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## emilylithium (Jul 7, 2014)

i really don't have much allergies, maybe to dust, i'm not too sure. I guess i am also trying to avoid some harmful stuff in makeup and skincare products because they make me itch a lot, especially in body butters.


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## jennm149 (Jul 7, 2014)

Unless someone is planning to send tree pollen, no allergy worries here.


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## msambrosia (Jul 7, 2014)

My allergies are mostly seasonal, but I am allergic to something they put in cinnamon-scented stuff. I always hate Christmas shopping because all those cinnamon candles and potpourri make buying gifts a severely unpleasant experience!


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## tweakabell (Jul 7, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> My allergies are mostly seasonal, but I am allergic to something they put in cinnamon-scented stuff. I always hate Christmas shopping because all those cinnamon candles and potpourri make buying gifts a severely unpleasant experience!


I don't have allergies but those giant bags of cinnamon pinecones make me instantly nauseous and an instant migraine. I'll send my husband/daughter down aisles because I can't go near them.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 7, 2014)

Tweakabell said:


> I don't have allergies but those giant bags of cinnamon pinecones make me instantly nauseous and an instant migraine. I'll send my husband/daughter down aisles because I can't go near them.


Haha, I love those.  I wish I could pack them into the walls but my bf would kill me.  He loves chocolate chip cookies and when we first started dating I  surprised him with a big batch, then he takes a big bite and just freezes with a look of horror on his face.  I add cinnamon to mine.  I think he spit it out, lol. Ever since then I learned that cinnamon is not for everyone!


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## meaganola (Jul 7, 2014)

Tweakabell said:


> I don't have allergies but those giant bags of cinnamon pinecones make me instantly nauseous and an instant migraine. I'll send my husband/daughter down aisles because I can't go near them.


Same here. As an added bonus, my throat has started closing up when I spend more than a few seconds around them. I have problems breathing. It makes grocery shopping during the holidays really difficult. I love cinnamon as a spice, but there's something used on those pinecones and brooms that just sets things off.


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## rachelshine (Jul 7, 2014)

Unless someone is sending penicillin or amoxicillin, I am in the clear!


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## tweakabell (Jul 7, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Same here. As an added bonus, my throat has started closing up when I spend more than a few seconds around them. I have problems breathing. It makes grocery shopping during the holidays really difficult. I love cinnamon as a spice, but there's something used on those pinecones and brooms that just sets things off.


Yea it's definitely something in the artificial aroma. I can eat cinnamon and when it's done right in things like candles, it can smell delicious and homey for the winter months but those pinecones, I have nightmares about those pinecones lol I've had the breathing issues you talked about as well, it's just not instant.


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## chelsealady (Jul 7, 2014)

The only thing that I have a problem with is eucalyptus. This is somewhat a new thing with me. At my old job there was a eucalyptus bush by the front entrance. And I was having all sorts of sinus problems. When I changed jobs I noticed that my sinuses was better. Till I tried some eucalyptus soap. My head stopped up and my skin wouldn't stop itching.

But if you already have something bought with it in it. Don't worry I'll figure out something.


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## dancersmum (Jul 7, 2014)

I'm pretty sure I have my allergies listed somewhere on my cheat sheet...

1.  I have food allergies (mainly seafood and anything containing sulphites) - not a problem unless someone is sending me lobster or sea urchin lol

2.  I am allergic to most antibiotics (sulphurs, macrolides, penicillin)

3.  I am allergic to nickel

4.  artificial fragrances are a migraine trigger

5.  Allergic to chemical sunscreen (I can do physical sunscreen)

6. I avoid  Sulphates as they make me break out &amp; itch! Silicons do too!

Sorry whoever has me - I'm a fairly allergic person!


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## dancersmum (Jul 8, 2014)

Does anyone have any fav silly drugstore non make up items that they constantly use?

I love learning about other peoples favorite things as I've come across some great items that way.

Here's my example - I'm obsessed with the thicker Goody Stay put black elastics - but I think they are phasing them out!!!  http://www.drugstore.com/goody-stayput-elastics-black/qxp206744?catid=335599 - I rarely go a day without using one even if its just when I'm cooking or working out - but they don't sell them where I live  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  so whenever I'm somewhere that has them I try to stock up.


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 8, 2014)

I'm allergic to things no one will send me:

Dogs/cats/mice

Fall molds and tree pollens

Cockroaches (yeah...)

Pecans (but I eat them anyway)


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## cobainrls (Jul 8, 2014)

I am allergic to most trees and grass( I love them though!), dust, roaches, mice,cats, dogs,just about everything on the test they give you. I am even allergic to the histamine that people are not usually allergic too. HA! But, I still have dogs and cats and go outside and sit in the grass under a tree. I am a rebel!


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## trekkersangel (Jul 8, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Does anyone have any fav silly drugstore non make up items that they constantly use?
> 
> I love learning about other peoples favorite things as I've come across some great items that way.
> 
> Here's my example - I'm obsessed with the thicker Goody Stay put black elastics - but I think they are phasing them out!!!  http://www.drugstore.com/goody-stayput-elastics-black/qxp206744?catid=335599 - I rarely go a day without using one even if its just when I'm cooking or working out - but they don't sell them where I live  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  so whenever I'm somewhere that has them I try to stock up.


Oh so many!!!

Office supplies! Especially post its &amp; notepads! I live off of those skinny post it's that are about half an inch by 2 inches. I teach piano lessons &amp; use those to placemark the songs they have for the week. And small stickers to put on their songs when they pass them off!

Pens! Somehow all the pens in my house run away with forks (yes, forks! I swear my kids throw them away when I'm not looking!) &amp; disappear from our house forever.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 8, 2014)

I have serious autoimmune issues, so my body thinks it is allergic to its' self and randomly attacks organs.   :blink: I am truly a hazard to myself!


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## Lolo22 (Jul 8, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Does anyone have any fav silly drugstore non make up items that they constantly use?
> 
> I love learning about other peoples favorite things as I've come across some great items that way.
> 
> Here's my example - I'm obsessed with the thicker Goody Stay put black elastics - but I think they are phasing them out!!!  http://www.drugstore.com/goody-stayput-elastics-black/qxp206744?catid=335599 - I rarely go a day without using one even if its just when I'm cooking or working out - but they don't sell them where I live  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  so whenever I'm somewhere that has them I try to stock up.


I always hit up the candy aisle and the as seen on tv aisle. I usually end up with nail files (I go through them so fast!) and gum. I love the fun, seasonal nail files or the glitter ones.  If I see a new flavor of Extra Dessert gum, I have to have it.


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## SaraP (Jul 8, 2014)

Trident gum in the blue pack, I've chewed it for years and purchase it in the extra large sams club packs. I think I have over 30 packs currently  :blink:


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## DonnaD (Jul 8, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Does anyone have any fav silly drugstore non make up items that they constantly use?
> 
> I love learning about other peoples favorite things as I've come across some great items that way.
> 
> Here's my example - I'm obsessed with the thicker Goody Stay put black elastics - but I think they are phasing them out!!!  http://www.drugstore.com/goody-stayput-elastics-black/qxp206744?catid=335599 - I rarely go a day without using one even if its just when I'm cooking or working out - but they don't sell them where I live  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  so whenever I'm somewhere that has them I try to stock up.


For me it's mini bobby pins.  I use them as stitch markers when I crochet.  I have 2 that I absolutely love...right size, not too tight or loose on the stitch...and I keep looking for some just like them but I can't find them anywhere.  I have about a bazillion mini bobby pins but only 2 I really like.  Meh.  I just keep looking.


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## CurlyTails (Jul 8, 2014)

I love pretty and colorful office supplied!


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## Dashery (Jul 8, 2014)

@@DonnaD I found this blogpost comparing bobbypins. There are some mini ones and it mentions the brands of each so you can find them. Maybe it shows the kind you like!


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## Kelli (Jul 8, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Does anyone have any fav silly drugstore non make up items that they constantly use?
> 
> I love learning about other peoples favorite things as I've come across some great items that way.
> 
> Here's my example - I'm obsessed with the thicker Goody Stay put black elastics - but I think they are phasing them out!!!  http://www.drugstore.com/goody-stayput-elastics-black/qxp206744?catid=335599 - I rarely go a day without using one even if its just when I'm cooking or working out - but they don't sell them where I live  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  so whenever I'm somewhere that has them I try to stock up.


I love the "Dollar Days" section of all the stores around here. I will buy anything random from those, most recently a lint roller and a faux Swiffer duster thing LOL. I love all the stationary items they have in them! I have little sets that have alligators and flowers on them, plus all the other fun stationary things, pens, notebooks, tape, staplers.

I particularly love the dollar area at the front of Michael's stores. I'm such a sucker for them. Why, yes, I need some neon colored bandaids, a fox rubber stamp and a chunky floral pen. How did they know, I MUST HAVE THESE THINGS?!?!?!

Last, but not least, STICKERS! I probably have a thousand stickers. I use them when I send birthday cards, I give them to my nieces and nephew in the little easter baskets, Christmas stockings etc that I put together for them. I bring them out for my nieces and nehpews for craft time. I just love stickers. I have character ones (jake &amp; the neverland pirates, hello kitty, princess), animal ones, glittery ones, birthday/holiday ones...whatever ones I see that spark my interest. I'm a dork like that. (plus these are also readily available for $1 at Michaels, so it's like a small thing I can buy even when I'm pretty broke, that makes me happy  LOL -are you seeing a pattern here  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)


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## Dashery (Jul 8, 2014)

Oh! I love the dollar section too! I always get little spools of ribbon!


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## button6004 (Jul 8, 2014)

I have a love for stationery.  I love hitting up the Target dollar bin and getting cute little thank you notes and blank notecards with pretty patterns and colors.


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## DonnaD (Jul 8, 2014)

Dashery said:


> @@DonnaD I found this blogpost comparing bobbypins. There are some mini ones and it mentions the brands of each so you can find them. Maybe it shows the kind you like!


Wow!  Thanks a bunch.


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## trekkersangel (Jul 8, 2014)

Eeek!!!!  There is something I got for my swap buddy that is super duper duper special that I had special ordered just for her forever ago &amp; it finally arrived today. . . &amp; boy is it gorgeous!!!  And guess what?  It's not make-up related AT ALL. . . but it sparkles.  

So who's my swap buddy that gets to have it?  I'm not telling.  :smiletongue:


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## valeried44 (Jul 8, 2014)

What a tease!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## rachelshine (Jul 8, 2014)

My drugstore weakness is canddddy. I always end up getting smarties or those sour straw things (red or blue, not green!!). YUMMM.


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## klg534 (Jul 8, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> My drugstore weakness is canddddy. I always end up getting smarties or those sour straw things (red or blue, not green!!). YUMMM.


Yessssss.. those sour straws are amazing. I am always tempted to buy the bulk pack at sams club (I never do) but its just... they are amazing.


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## jennm149 (Jul 8, 2014)

I gotta be honest, I've sort of given up shopping in regular stores for recreation.  I just buy too much stuff I don't need ... and I can do THAT on the internet.

In a past life when I did more drugstore shopping -- it was always the beauty/skin items that got me. A new nail polish, a single-use face mask, pedicure cream ... I was never much for shopping for other stuff in the drugstore (well, except drugs and contact lens solution).  When I occassionally stop at a drugstore, it's usually to pick up a card.  And I tend to get in and get out before I get distracted and forget why I went in the first place.

Sorry this isn't much help to my swap buddy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Christa W (Jul 8, 2014)

I don't have any one thing in particular its more like everything. If I'm in a drugstore it's usually to pick up a prescription or to buy polish. I do love the dollar items from Target or pretty much anything at Dollar General. I collect pens, Chapstick/ lip balm, cat toys and anything mini sized. Half the stuff I never use but if it comes in a tiny size I'm grabbing it. I love school supplies even though I have no kids. It's my favorite time for grabbing extras. Last year Crayola came out with crayons in 10 pack color sets. I didn't get any but I was so ga ga over them. I just like stuff I guess lol!!


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## ashleylind (Jul 8, 2014)

I really try to avoid Target/drugstores, because I spend too much on online impulse buys as it is. Working from home helps this, because I don't run unnecessary lunch break errands anymore. I try to only go to Target once a month to pick up all my "old lady" medications. When I go though, I always check out the dollar bins. I seem to always pick up at least one Hello Kitty item for my daughter (because she is obsessed. She also informed me last night she wants to be Hello Kitty for Halloween). I buy the magnetic notepads when I'm running low. And I always try to stock up on tape – regular and mailing. Oh, I also LOVE containers/bins. So I like picking those up as well when they are cheap.

My mom works for Hallmark, so I've never had to worry about purchasing cards, tissue paper, bags, gift wrap, etc., that other people might stock up on. I have so much, I'm good for quite some time.


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## chelsealady (Jul 8, 2014)

Notebooks, pens, and post it notes. I'm a sucker for any of those. All office supplies really. I got the purse post it note holder from my Santa at Christmas. And @@tulosai got me cutest package of paperclips. Which I go and reclaim because they are all in colors.

Yes, I did use the phrase, "oh, that is my yellow paperclip. I want it back. It was a gift."


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## CurlyTails (Jul 8, 2014)

Another thing I love is gift wrap! I love buying wrapping paper and gift bags and ribbons and bows. Even when I'm not shopping for a gift in particular.


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## valeried44 (Jul 8, 2014)

I often stop by the magazine rack.  I like to browse the magazines (home, garden, cooking, sewing, craft) and I love those variety puzzle books.  I like to have games/puzzles that don't involve a computer or phone and that make me think.


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## Kelli (Jul 8, 2014)

valeried44 said:


> I often stop by the magazine rack.  I like to browse the magazines (home, garden, cooking, sewing, craft) and I love those variety puzzle books.  I like to have games/puzzles that don't involve a computer or phone and that make me think.


I love those puzzle books! I particularly love the logic problems (the ones with the little story and grid where you put dots and x's). My mom hates those, so I'd always do those out of her books and as an adult will buy them now myself.



curlytails said:


> Another thing I love is gift wrap! I love buying wrapping paper and gift bags and ribbons and bows. Even when I'm not shopping for a gift in particular.


I do this, too. I kind of hoard wrapping paper. I used to love buying "holiday" wrapping paper at hobby lobby. It was always 50% off all during the holidays and didn't even look christmasy (lime green and pink squiggly lines, black and white damask looking stuff etc), so I'd stock up. They are 100 sq ft rolls and really heavy duty, last couple years the selection hasn't been as good, so I just go crazy everywhere haha.


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## wadedl (Jul 8, 2014)

I am allergic to something but have not idea what. I went to Vegas and was in a sand storm and broke out into hives. So it was either something I ate or the sand storm. It also happened when I was pregnant once but I have no idea what I ate differently. Other than that strong house cleaners make my neck break out into hives. Chanel face cream also caused a bad reaction.

Impulse type buys, an interesting pen or cute container.


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## SaraP (Jul 9, 2014)

Here's a question....

What are your favorite makeup brushes? Is your set missing something you'd love?


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## button6004 (Jul 9, 2014)

sarap said:


> Here's a question....
> 
> What are your favorite makeup brushes? Is your set missing something you'd love?


I got the 20 piece Coastal Scents set from ipsyMe not too long ago and its a pretty good set. I love my fan brush!

I would love a good blending brush.  Like I'm picturing a super fluffy shadow brush that would work well for softly blending out shadows.


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## Dashery (Jul 9, 2014)

I really like eye shadow brushes (especially basic slap-the-shadow-on ones). The more I have, the less often I have to clean them.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## wadedl (Jul 9, 2014)

I have a Borghese set from Costco that I took from my mom, it sat unopened for 2 years. I thinks that grounds for confiscation. I also have the big Becca brush. I also have the Bare Mineral set that comes with the starter kit.

I need a smaller shadow brush, I think they are called pencil brushes, like to place shadow right in the crease.


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## Dashery (Jul 9, 2014)

wadedl said:


> I need a smaller shadow brush, I think they are called pencil brushes, like to place shadow right in the crease.


Oh my applesauce, pencil brushes are spectacular! I'd use them for everything if I had enough. (I only have one Coastal Scents one).


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 9, 2014)

I adore big brushes!  I only use pencil eyeliner, and never use eyeshadow, so I never use any of the small brushes that come in sets.  Powder and blush brushes are ALWAYS welcome!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 9, 2014)

i love any and all brushes! i think i would like something nice for blending (i'm really annoyed i missed the free shipping form urban decay and didn't pick up the optical blurring brush urrrrggghh) I can always go for better crease brushes and eyeshadow brushes...basically i love all brushes.


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## trekkersangel (Jul 9, 2014)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Starlooks brushes.  I was amazed at how much I liked them.  I'm also in love with my Urban Decay two sided brush that came with my Naked 3 palette.  I hear Coastal Scents brushes are amazing, but I've never tried them.

I have lots of face brushes at the moment, but am in need of eyeshadow brushes.  I need a good dome brush &amp; a good blending brush for my eyes.  I have a "pencil" guy &amp; boy are they wonderful.

On a side note (I'm an enabler). . . if you want to try the Starlooks brushes there is a code out right now for 50% off all orders (shipping is always free) SLLOVESYOU.  I'm on a no buy for myself right now, but am still buying for my swap buddy.  ;-)  But for those of you who want to buy your swap buddies (or yourselves) some pretty nice brushes [or make up] 50% off is a good deal.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 9, 2014)

I've got the Coastal Scents 22 piece brush set as well, and a few other miscellaneous brushes. I love all the ones I have, but I'd love to find a really good concealer brush that works with cream concealers. I find the ones I have just get all gross, and maybe that's the lay of the land with brushes and cream concealer, but there's got to be a better way!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 9, 2014)

I mostly have Sephora brand brushes (the silver handled ones) and Iove them. I am in need of a blending brush and probably a medium eye shadow brush. And I could always use a good blush brush.

I do have a Real Techniques face powder brush that I bought recently that I really like. I'm also thinking about picking up a set of travel brushes for my travel makeup bag.


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## ashleylind (Jul 9, 2014)

I have 4 Coastal Scents eye brushes (one from Ipsy and 3 from the Birchbox Revealed pack), I really like them. I have a few other Ulta brand brushes that are fine. But yeah, I've never splurged on a brush.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 9, 2014)

I need face brushes bad.  I have a whole Sonia Kashuk set that is sooo pretty but they shed something awful.  The eye ones are fine, but the face/powder and blush ones always end up all over my face.  I tried to buy some Ulta brand ones but they were all stiff, I like the fluffy ones.  I wish Ulta would get the Too Faced teddy bear ones so I could use my points on them, otherwise I'd love to try the Coastal Scents ones, but their shipping just kills me.  Bought an Eco Tools (or whatever its called) set awhile back and that was crappy too, I returned it.


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## jennm149 (Jul 9, 2014)

I have a real mishmash of brushes,mostly Sephora but a few Philosophy (from a long ago gift set), some Trish McEvoys and Bobbi Browns that are probably old enough to be considered vintage and some other odds and ends, including an angled eyeliner brush that is probably my favorite. I don't have a big, fluffy overall brush, though.


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## Christa W (Jul 9, 2014)

Uh... I only have a the one from Ipsy in my May bag. Maybe that's why I suck at makeup.


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## jesemiaud (Jul 9, 2014)

Makeup brushes: I like the coastal scents brushes that came with my revealed palette. I have some Sephora brushes that I also like. I could use a blush brush and a powder brush.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 9, 2014)

I have a mess of brushes.  I think my main set came from Arbonne.  I also have a couple of MAC brushes that need to be replaced, a set of eye brushes from Ecotools, a Coastal Scents brush from tipsy that I really like, several kabuki brushes from bare minerals and a concealer brush from BM, a Shishiedo flat top foundation brush, a Sonia Krushek traditional foundation brush, a brush for meteorites, an elf stippling brush, and an Anastasia brow brush.

Not sure if I "need" any more brushes.  But I don't wash mine as often as I should, and I primarily use gel pot eyeliners, so extra eyeliner brushes would be fabulous.  I also wanted the brush made for the ambient lighting powders.  And I have been eyeing the NARS Yachiyo Kabuki brush.  Not sure I "need" that brush, but it's uniqueness is intriguing to me.  Plus I am a NARS girl!


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## SaraP (Jul 9, 2014)

I have tons of brushes, mostly because I lazy and don't like to clean them constantly   :blush:  I have everything from $$$ to $. I don't have a angled eyeliner brush, just the normal eyeliner brush. Anyone have both and think I 'need' the angled kind?


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## marigoldsue (Jul 9, 2014)

sarap said:


> I have tons of brushes, mostly because I lazy and don't like to clean them constantly   :blush:  I have everything from $$$ to $. I don't have a angled eyeliner brush, just the normal eyeliner brush. Anyone have both and think I 'need' the angled kind?


I'm the opposite of you.  I only have the angled kind.  I wonder if I would like the other.


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## SaraP (Jul 9, 2014)

_Coastal Scents brush from tipsy that I really like _

This cracked me up!!! I have the 22pc set from _tipsy _and YES they are great!!

_ I have been eyeing the NARS Yachiyo Kabuki brush.  Not sure I "need" that brush, but it's uniqueness is intriguing to me.  Plus I am a NARS girl! _

This exactly!

_I'm the opposite of you.  I only have the angled kind.  I wonder if I would like the other._

I've used the straight kind forever and I like it...but it's all I know.


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## valeried44 (Jul 9, 2014)

I have a few brushes, but that is definitely something that I'm lacking.  I have such a hard time differentiating them all, it just feels overwhelming.


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## emilylithium (Jul 9, 2014)

I bought some coastal scents brushes, but i think i need more! (or rather I want more) I've been really lusting over those big and fluffy brushes.


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## BSquared (Jul 9, 2014)

I love brushes because I am also lazy and hate washing. I have a variety too-a ton of elf, some sigma, some sephora, some generic, and some from bh. Honestly my $3 bh blending brush and cheap eBay sigma knockoffs are my favorite out of all of them.


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## meaganola (Jul 9, 2014)

I always want more eyeshadow brushes, especially short, dense ones for packing on loose pigment!  I wash mine every week, but it would be nice to have more so I could vary my colors more.  I don't like switching colors when I've already used a brush for one color!  If it's a different shade of brown or green, it's okay, but I go from gold to pink to green to purple to orange to blue, and you have to wash brushes when going from one color to another like that!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 9, 2014)

Just got shipping notification on the gift I am most excited about for my buddy!!!  Can't wait to see this in person.  I hope she loves it as much as I think she will.  

Now all I have left to do is one purchase at Nordstrom during the anniversary sale with my rewards dollars, and two stops for local items and I am done.  Well, knowing me I won't actually be done until I ship the box.  But in theory I will be done.

Oh, and the wrapping stuff needs to be purchased.  I am getting excited!  I wish we could do FaceTime openings with our buddies.  It would be so cool to have the opening be interactive.  Plus am I the only one who finds it kind of odd to shop for someone that you have no idea what they actually look like?  Would love to put a face with my buddy!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 9, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I always want more eyeshadow brushes, especially short, dense ones for packing on loose pigment!  I wash mine every week, but it would be nice to have more so I could vary my colors more.  I don't like switching colors when I've already used a brush for one color!  If it's a different shade of brown or green, it's okay, but I go from gold to pink to green to purple to orange to blue, and you have to wash brushes when going from one color to another like that!


Do you have brand suggests for the best brushes for loose pigments?  I am just starting to experiment with them and would love some tips on best application.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 9, 2014)

Oooh I just thought of what I need a good set of: travel set of brushes. I hate lugging my regular brushes over to the bf's house, I'd love some sort of case for my regular brushes or travel set of brushes to take with me.


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## meaganola (Jul 9, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Do you have brand suggests for the best brushes for loose pigments?  I am just starting to experiment with them and would love some tips on best application.


I'm big on just using whatever brushes come my way (I have several mini brushes from various MAC palettes over the years), but my favorite is the medium dome fluff brush (I think that's what it's called) from Starlooks.  It was in the January 2013 box.  I have a feeling a pencil brush would be *fantastic* for using pigments as smudgy liners, but I don't have one, so I don't know for sure.


----------



## sstich79 (Jul 9, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Plus am I the only one who finds it kind of odd to shop for someone that you have no idea what they actually look like?  Would love to put a face with my buddy!


Aha! Another person who's not my person, because I have a photo!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Just kidding, I'm not really keeping track, because I think it's more fun not to know.

Drugstore impulse buys for me usually skew to the candy variety, tragically. My latest obsession is Starburst jelly beans... AMAZING.

Got a package today, one more coming, and then I'm done with the big stuff! Just a few little non-makeup bits and bobs, and I'll be set. Huzzah!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 9, 2014)

Just thought of a drugstore item! Cute shower caps or wraps to help keep my hair up while I am soaking in the tub.


----------



## lastnite629 (Jul 9, 2014)

I mainly use EcoTools make up brushes.  I've been wanting to try Real Techniques, but they aren't sold in any stores close to me.  I want to see them in person before I buy them.

What I really need is a good brush cleaner.


----------



## SaraP (Jul 9, 2014)

I use alcohol as a spot cleaner and face wash for my deep cleanings.


----------



## Dashery (Jul 9, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> What I really need is a good brush cleaner.


 
Sometimes I think that too. And then I remember: Who am I kidding? I won't clean them often anyway.


----------



## SaraP (Jul 9, 2014)

@@Dashery new hair? or new wig?


----------



## Dashery (Jul 9, 2014)

sarap said:


> @@Dashery new hair? or new wig?


Haha Old wigs. I was at a friends house for a film project and none of my friends have long hair. So we had to break out the wigs that we all have from costumes. My one friend had that mint green wig stuck inside the black one for storage, but I thought they were just one wig. So I was messing around and put them both on at once.

And then I felt like a Final Fantasy character.  B)


----------



## SaraP (Jul 9, 2014)

It's cute! I miss my green hair   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Dashery (Jul 9, 2014)

sarap said:


> It's cute! I miss my green hair   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Thank you!

*whispers* _Go for a wig. You know you waaaant to.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />__ _ I've never actually dyed my hair, because I could never pick one color for long. I'd want to change it every week!

I think it's pretty impressive to dye your hair all one, bright color!


----------



## Kelli (Jul 10, 2014)

I have a super cheap brush set from amazon, that once I tried other brushes, I realized sucked majorly lol. So I have been trying to accumulate more and phase those out. I have one coastal scents eye brush that I love as well as an elf one that is pretty nice for the price. I really love my Starlooks angled liner brush and blush brush. I have Real Techniques stippling brush and the eye set and a couple eco tools shadow brushes.

I can always use more shadow brushes. I hate cleaning them all the time, so the more the merrier. I particularly need crease &amp; blending brushes. I don't own any kabuki brushes and the only large powder type brush I have is from the horrible quality amazon set, so that's something I eventually need to pick up.



sarap said:


> I have tons of brushes, mostly because I lazy and don't like to clean them constantly   :blush:  I have everything from $$$ to $. I don't have a angled eyeliner brush, just the normal eyeliner brush. Anyone have both and think I 'need' the angled kind?


I've used both and like both, though I tend to prefer the angled ones. I think it depends what kind of look you're going for. I feel I do much better with more dramatic cat eyes and stuff with an angled one. Overall, I think it's more preference than anything and if you are used to the normal ones and can get the look you want with one, you probably don't need an angled one (but it could be something fun to play around with!).


----------



## rachelshine (Jul 10, 2014)

@@SaraP, you are the best question asker EVER.

I am obsessed with brushes. I have SO many but like Pokemon, wanna collect them all. Can always use more eye brushes. Desperately searching for a spoolie for my brows. I love Coastal Scent brushes, so cheap and actually really effective. I also bow down to my Urban Decay Optical Blurring brush, it's just fab. 

@@lastnite629 I use baby soap! The giant Jergens bottle or whatever that is like $3 at Target. Lasts forever and makes the brushes soft as heck.


----------



## dancersmum (Jul 10, 2014)

@@rachelshine - I'm like you - love my brushes...just added a few hourglass ones to my collection...and a few tarte ones!  I love brushes.

Some are my brushes are coming up to 20 years old - and I was super sad as after washing my fav MAC one it shedded like crazy...I think it may need replacing.

I just use my cetaphil to wash them...I probably don't wash them as often as I should.

@@SaraP &amp; @mairgoldsue - I just asked myself that question last week....I only had angled...now I have a few angled and a few push - find that they work differently for different products at least for me.  I can do thinner more controlled lines in general with angled but the push brush seems to work great for a tight line on my upper lashes with a gel liner.

Now that I'm all done shopping for summerswap - is it nuts that I've started shopping for the next swap!!


----------



## msambrosia (Jul 10, 2014)

I have the Coastal Scents 22-piece brush set, which I really like. I've added in a few brushes since then, but I'd really like to get another set, maybe some brushes that are not synthetic. I got a Crown brush from Ipsy, which I really like, and I have a few from Elf and Ecotools.


----------



## sstich79 (Jul 10, 2014)

I have a mishmash of brushes for now... wish I'd caught that Coastal Scents ipsyMe deal, because everyone has such good things to say about them!

Another question: what's your very latest obsession? For me, it's lemon-scented things... first the Derma E scrub from Ipsy, then the Suki cleanser from Birchbox.... now I want lemon everything! But it seems like most things with lemon aren't JUST lemon, they're lemon AND something, and I seriously just want to smell like someone squeezed a lemon onto me.


----------



## button6004 (Jul 10, 2014)

I love lemon smell.  I generally love citrus scents and LOVE lemon and mint together. MMM.

But  my current obsession, as I think I have mentioned, is Bobbi Brown Beach.  OMG.  That smell.  I cant even handle how lovely it is.  I looooove it.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 10, 2014)

I am seriously digging grapefruit at the moment. It's very clean and refreshing to me.


----------



## meaganola (Jul 10, 2014)

Current obsessions!

Scents: sandalwood, anything fortune teller/head shop/hippie-ish

Products: fine sugar scrubs, hair masks, tinted lip balms, lip crayons (especially stain crayons)

Companies: lots of indies. Haus of Gloi, Shiro, Geek Chic, and Rainbow Honey, just to name a few.


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 10, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Current obsessions!
> 
> Scents: sandalwood, anything fortune teller/head shop/hippie-ish
> 
> ...


Wait!  What?  They have STAIN CRAYONS?  Oh dear.  I might be in trouble.


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 10, 2014)

Current Obsessions:

Make-Up: tinted lip balms &amp; colored eyeliners

Bath &amp; Body: Body Lotion/Creams &amp; Scrubs for my dry dry summer skin

Food: Guacamole . . . must . . . have . . . avocados at every meal . . . YUM.  I'm an addict.

Colors: Coral &amp; Turquoise.  I'm totally obsessed with those colors right now (for make-up, clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories, home decor.)

Treat: ICE CREAM

Splurge: NAPS (they don't happen often with 6 kids in the house, but when they do . . . LOVE!)


----------



## button6004 (Jul 10, 2014)

Oh MAN. Naps.  Naps are glorious.

I also am obsessed with fountain cokes.  So bad for you but I LOOOVE a good fountain coke.  I try to limit myself to one or two a week.

Cheese is a real problem too.  Anything salty, really.  I am not a big sweets person- gimme french fries over chocolate any day!


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 10, 2014)

Obsessions:

Products for glowy skin, tiny gold shimmers in things (blushes, eye shadow, nail polish), eye creams/products, glitter nail polish, neon anything, all things mint green, highlights, marshmallows, Too Faced lashgasm, lip stains, long necklaces, self tanners, coconut/beachy smells, hot pink lips, racerback tank tops, anything moisturizing for hair, almond body butters, sunshine.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 10, 2014)

button6004 said:


> Oh MAN. Naps. Naps are glorious.
> 
> I also am obsessed with fountain cokes. So bad for you but I LOOOVE a good fountain coke. I try to limit myself to one or two a week.
> 
> Cheese is a real problem too. Anything salty, really. I am not a big sweets person- gimme french fries over chocolate any day!


I wanted to "like" this post but apparently I've hit my like limit for the day!


----------



## BSquared (Jul 10, 2014)

Latest obsessions: Indie pigments and lipsticks (thank you indie thread), holo polish, and donuts.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 10, 2014)

Obsessions:  other than nail polish (always an obsession) --  vanilla softserve ice cream with chocolate sprinkles; iced chai lattes; lip stains; makeup setting spray; anti-aging pretty much anything.

And air conditioning.


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 10, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Wait!  What?  They have STAIN CRAYONS?  Oh dear.  I might be in trouble.


Yes, @@meaganola what are these stain crayons you speak of?

My current obsessions are ice tea, indie lip products and luminizers (I own five NARS ones and a variety of other brands).


----------



## Christa W (Jul 10, 2014)

Since I have OCD everything is an obsession for me. Lately it's been my Swapbuddy gift, cuticle balm, Instagram, and getting engaged (as in when is he finally going to ask me!! It's been 7 years and that's all his parents ever talk about when I go over there!!! I've already planned a wedding in my head so when he does get around to it I'm ready!!) Sorry that's not beauty related but literally I can't think of anything else since it got brought up on Sunday. Oh I'm also obsessing over OPI paints for my house, the game Rift and reorganization of my polish and makeup stashes... If my Swapbuddy wants to buy me a few Helmers I wouldn't say no!!! LOL!!


----------



## Kelli (Jul 10, 2014)

Current obsessions: perfume samples/minis I've always just worn B&amp;BW Body Sprays, but am trying to find a nice perfume to maybe splurge on, so I have been hoarding samples to see if I can find something I like  enough to splurge on(i am thinking next month, I'll buy one of those Sephora Favorites sets where you get the minis and then a voucher for a free rollerball. Have any of you tried them? I think there are three of the $24 sets, any suggestions on which to try?!?!)

Lipsticks. I have just buying so many (mostly the NYC Expert Last Lipsticks, they are only $1.99 and I had a bunch of $1 off coupons so I bought like 8 of them in the last month lol)

Music. I used to be SO into music and in the "scene" now I feel like an old lady who has gotten super lazy with her music tastes (most of the stuff I listen to is what's being played on the radio). I used to be the person that always knew the coolest bands _before_ they were popular and I am just wanting to start loving the hunt for new, unique or up-and-coming stuff again!

Dr. Pepper and glitter are always obsessions with me. And peacocks!


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 10, 2014)

Latest Obsessions...

- Sheet masks

- Zoya/Rainbow Honey polis

- Snail and/or honey based skincare products

- Art &amp; Mary's salt-free chips

- Water aerobics (That's right, I rock it with all the senior citizens 2-3 times a week. It's fun and a perfect form of cardiac rehab for me)

I'm also on a Mally kick. I've decided after Summerswap, that I desperately need this:

http://www.birchbox.com/shop/mally-beauty-starlight-10-pc-deluxe-eyeliner-library


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 10, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Latest Obsessions...
> 
> - Sheet masks
> 
> ...


Where and when do you do water aerobics?  If it is at Matt Ross when I am not working I just may join you!


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 10, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Latest Obsessions...
> 
> - Sheet masks
> 
> ...


I am also obsessed with sheet masks!


----------



## tgooberbutt (Jul 10, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Obsessions:
> 
> Products for glowy skin, tiny gold shimmers in things (blushes, eye shadow, nail polish), eye creams/products, glitter nail polish, neon anything, all things mint green, highlights, marshmallows, Too Faced lashgasm, lip stains, long necklaces, self tanners, coconut/beachy smells, hot pink lips, racerback tank tops, anything moisturizing for hair, almond body butters, sunshine.


OMG - I am so with you on the racer-back tanktops. Hell, racer-back anything. I have wide shoulders, and spaghetti straps not only look horrible on me, but anything not-racerback just slips right off the shoulders whenever I'm doing anything remotely active.


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 10, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Since I have OCD everything is an obsession for me. Lately it's been my Swapbuddy gift, cuticle balm, Instagram, and getting engaged (as in when is he finally going to ask me!! It's been 7 years and that's all his parents ever talk about when I go over there!!! I've already planned a wedding in my head so when he does get around to it I'm ready!!) Sorry that's not beauty related but literally I can't think of anything else since it got brought up on Sunday. Oh I'm also obsessing over OPI paints for my house, the game Rift and reorganization of my polish and makeup stashes... If my Swapbuddy wants to buy me a few Helmers I wouldn't say no!!! LOL!!


Engagements are so exciting!  And wedding planning is totally beauty-related!

And OPI paints -- they make paints in OPI colors??


----------



## Christa W (Jul 10, 2014)

jennm149 said:


> And OPI paints -- they make paints in OPI colors??


Yup at Ace Hardware. There's 33 shades or something like that. They just built a new one 3 blocks from my house and I have a ton of walls that need to be painted.


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 10, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Where and when do you do water aerobics?  If it is at Matt Ross when I am not working I just may join you!


The 24 Hour Fitness on SM Parkway. I do the Tuesday and Thursday classes at 9, and then sometimes the Wednesday evening class at 6.



curlytails said:


> I am also obsessed with sheet masks!


I just got into them and sleep packs several weeks ago, but I'm already noticing a big difference! I'm thinking about getting some of the My Beauty Diary sheet masks, because I've heard really good things about them.


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 10, 2014)

Current obsessions:

-Harvey Prince Hello perfume, and owning the new lotion in the same scent

-Indies, anything. Especially Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Shiro, Glamour Doll Eyes, Impulse Cosmetics lipsticks...

-Iced tea and espresso

-Lipstick in bold bright colors

-Grapefruit scented things


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 10, 2014)

current obsessions:

packing my apartment

making to-buy lists for my bar cart at my new place

making lists in general for my new place

gold dots / small decals to make accent patterned walls 

iced tea

etsy in general

learning how to tightline


----------



## jocedun (Jul 10, 2014)

Current obsessions:

- sweet scented perfumes and lotions (I like to smell like a walking dessert case)

- bright matte lip products

- facial masks of all kinds (mud, sheet, etc)

- microdermabrasion exfoliators 

- pink/rose/burgundy toned eyeshadows (ala the Naked3 or CS Revealed 2)

- french macarons (all types of sweets, though, to be honest)

- cute, colorful bobby pins (think Jane Tran)
- colors: pastels, mint green, turquoise, and sea foam-y colors

- summery infinity scarves

And to play catch up a little:

- no allergies (but sensitive to nickel)

- don't enjoy elf or mineral products (Bare Minerals, etc)

- could always use more eyeshadow brushes 

- I think I really would like a statement necklace but I wouldn't even know where to start looking or what to buy (I never wear jewelry besides my nose piercing)


----------



## rachelshine (Jul 10, 2014)

Stalking the Midsummer Fairy/whatever reveal thread and semi relieved at what I have gotten my girl so far  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  WOOHOO! It's like my spider senses were tingling when I knew what to purchase her and what not to.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 10, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> current obsessions:
> 
> packing my apartment
> 
> ...


I am a compulsive list maker.


----------



## chelsealady (Jul 10, 2014)

Current obsession-Sonic lemon slush. I seriously could drink one every day. Except I don't want to weigh 500 pounds.

Current beauty obsession-Fresh sugar lip treatment. Why, oh why, did I give away my other flavors.


----------



## jayeme (Jul 10, 2014)

Hey, so, advice time: I am super busy at work and haven't been keeping up particularly well with this forum in general. It just occurred to me to check the midsummer reveals to see if my swapee has gotten her gift there yet - and it turns out that she has. (Yes, this means if you didn't get a midsummer gift, you can rule me out....) There is one product that I got for this gift that she has already received in the midsummer gift for sure, and another that may or may not be a dupe (it's the same product, but possibly a different shade - I can't really tell from the photo). Should I take them out or send them anyway? They're both small items that, if someone really liked them, they might like to have a backup, but if she doesn't love them then she will never need a backup....so, I don't know what to do. Any thoughts?


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 10, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Hey, so, advice time: I am super busy at work and haven't been keeping up particularly well with this forum in general. It just occurred to me to check the midsummer reveals to see if my swapee has gotten her gift there yet - and it turns out that she has. (Yes, this means if you didn't get a midsummer gift, you can rule me out....) There is one product that I got for this gift that she has already received in the midsummer gift for sure, and another that may or may not be a dupe (it's the same product, but possibly a different shade - I can't really tell from the photo). Should I take them out or send them anyway? They're both small items that, if someone really liked them, they might like to have a backup, but if she doesn't love them then she will never need a backup....so, I don't know what to do. Any thoughts?


I'd send them anyway. If she really wanted them she'd probably love another one for her purse. I know I would. Plus it shows her that you stalked her &amp; knew what she would like.


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 10, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Hey, so, advice time: I am super busy at work and haven't been keeping up particularly well with this forum in general. It just occurred to me to check the midsummer reveals to see if my swapee has gotten her gift there yet - and it turns out that she has. (Yes, this means if you didn't get a midsummer gift, you can rule me out....) There is one product that I got for this gift that she has already received in the midsummer gift for sure, and another that may or may not be a dupe (it's the same product, but possibly a different shade - I can't really tell from the photo). Should I take them out or send them anyway? They're both small items that, if someone really liked them, they might like to have a backup, but if she doesn't love them then she will never need a backup....so, I don't know what to do. Any thoughts?


This same thing happened to me. As of now, I'm planning on giving it to her. If she wants an extra for her makeup bag, awesome. If not, it should be easy enough to trade.


----------



## BSquared (Jul 10, 2014)

I would still send it!! I don't think dupes would be a bad thing.


----------



## SaraP (Jul 10, 2014)

Yes send it! Back up, trade or pay it forward...anyway it works   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## cobainrls (Jul 11, 2014)

I am obsessed with mascara. The bigger the lashes the better! I can't figure out how to put on fake lashes even with YouTube videos and being shown. I just always feel like they could be closer to my lash line and feel them. I have started making lists as well and being OCD about it. Tea from Starbucks is a big thing for me. I go up and get a trenta of iced green tea no classic about everyday even when I am not working. If I haven't had soda and have eaten good for a few days and worked I will get a trenta of passion tea lemonade no classic 6 pumps of raspberry. Lots of sugar but,I dont think it is as bad as a soda. I dont usually drink it all but that is the formula I have down to a t. I like my lip balms and eye shadow pens as well. Loving the longer days and the sunshine!


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 11, 2014)

As one of the people who could be getting the dupes, I concur.  Send them along -- I'm sure I can find a good home for anything.


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 11, 2014)

Send the dupes!!  I am sure she will love them--I know I loved my midsummer's presents, so I would have no problem with it!


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 11, 2014)

As of this morning, I have spent my $25. Now it's time to finalize my BB point goodies.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Oh! And to my person – while I won't be out of town during the mailing window, my daughter is having eye surgery on August 1st, so I'll probably be offline for 3-4 days, even if my package is received during that time.


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 11, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> As of this morning, I have spent my $25. Now it's time to finalize my BB point goodies.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> Oh! And to my person – while I won't be out of town during the mailing window, my daughter is having eye surgery on August 1st, so I'll probably be offline for 3-4 days, even if my package is received during that time.


Makes complete sense!  Take care of her and hopefully she will be better soon!


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 11, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> As of this morning, I have spent my $25. Now it's time to finalize my BB point goodies.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> Oh! And to my person – while I won't be out of town during the mailing window, my daughter is having eye surgery on August 1st, so I'll probably be offline for 3-4 days, even if my package is received during that time.


Hope it goes well!  Don't forget to take care of yourself while you're caring for her that week


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 11, 2014)

Ouch! Eye surgery doesn't sound fun at all. Good thing she has a great momma to take care of her. I'm sure your fairy godmother will totally understand!


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 11, 2014)

Thanks! It's a very low-key, 45-minute surgery, with a quick recovery time – so all should be good. I've known the surgery was inevitable and I'm eager to get it over with, but the thought of Audrey getting surgery still is hard to process and makes me tearful.

I do have the 3 grandmas who will be helping me with her the week after her surgery just in case I hit one of my heart failure low-energy days. So, all should be good, and I've got myself covered.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 11, 2014)

@@ashleylind  I hope everything goes smoothly for her and for you!  We'll be thinking about you!


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 11, 2014)

Errr...so I just picked up a large flat rate box at the post office. Is there an XL box available? I'm apparently wanting to use too many SS and BB boxes to group my items, because there's no way it's going to fit.


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 11, 2014)

Errr...so I just picked up a large flat rate box at the post office. Is there an XL box available? I'm apparently wanting to use too many SS and BB boxes to group my items, because there's no way it's going to fit.


----------



## DonnaD (Jul 11, 2014)

I would definitely be okay with dupes.  Even though I got a pile of creams and moisturizers from @@puppymomofthree in midsummer swap, I seriously cannot get enough of them.  Keep 'em coming!!


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 11, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Errr...so I just picked up a large flat rate box at the post office. Is there an XL box available? I'm apparently wanting to use too many SS and BB boxes to group my items, because there's no way it's going to fit.


I'm dealing with the same thing today.  I got a large flat rate box this morning &amp; have been TRYING to play Tetris to get it all in there.  Nothing is wrapped yet so I have to try &amp; factor that into packing as well.  Ladies, we buy too much stuff!!!  Scratch that. . . you can never buy TOO much stuff for someone else right?


----------



## DonnaD (Jul 11, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Errr...so I just picked up a large flat rate box at the post office. Is there an XL box available? I'm apparently wanting to use too many SS and BB boxes to group my items, because there's no way it's going to fit.


Did you get the cube box or the flat, rectangular box?  The biggest priority cube-shaped box is  15x12x12.  The one I used for midsummer swap was 12x12x5  and costs $17-some dollars to ship.

Maybe you can skip packing in birchboxes and maybe use some of your ipsy bags or some other cosmetic bag which will be smaller and less rigid.


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 11, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> Did you get the cube box or the flat, rectangular box?  The biggest priority cube-shaped box is  15x12x12.  The one I used for midsummer swap was 12x12x5  and costs $17-some dollars to ship.


Sweet! I don't have the largest one then! Off to hunt that one down online now.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 11, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Errr...so I just picked up a large flat rate box at the post office. Is there an XL box available? I'm apparently wanting to use too many SS and BB boxes to group my items, because there's no way it's going to fit.


Unless it's super heavy, it might be cheaper to just use any old box.  My Midsummer box was 6 lbs and only $7 something to ship.


----------



## chelsealady (Jul 11, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Hey, so, advice time: I am super busy at work and haven't been keeping up particularly well with this forum in general. It just occurred to me to check the midsummer reveals to see if my swapee has gotten her gift there yet - and it turns out that she has. (Yes, this means if you didn't get a midsummer gift, you can rule me out....) There is one product that I got for this gift that she has already received in the midsummer gift for sure, and another that may or may not be a dupe (it's the same product, but possibly a different shade - I can't really tell from the photo). Should I take them out or send them anyway? They're both small items that, if someone really liked them, they might like to have a backup, but if she doesn't love them then she will never need a backup....so, I don't know what to do. Any thoughts?


As somebody who has received her awesome midsummer present, I say send it on. I loved every thing in my present and wouldn't mind a duplicate of anything I got.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 11, 2014)

My last order came in today! I think I am officially done shopping. I need to scope out some boxes now to see if using a non-flat rate box will be less expensive.


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## cobainrls (Jul 11, 2014)

I placed the sephora order today and it will be here Wednesday! I am so glad I finally figured out what I wanted to get. I am going to the mall tomorrow and I am sure I will find something else while I am there. I have gone through my stash and traded with other ladies on another site to get some of my person's stuff. I am super excited it is all coming together! I was so worried and stressing at first but, now the ball is rolling!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 11, 2014)

Yes my stuff is coming together too! Made a Birchbox order, and a small order today, so I've got about half of my $25 spent. I think if I can find one or two more items, then mine will be done too!


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## jesemiaud (Jul 11, 2014)

I received my last order today...well except for the replacement Fortune Co Soap Co CYO Whipped Cream since they sent the wrong scent. I emailed today and they had forgotten about me. They gave me a $15 credit toward a future order though, and told me it would ship within the week, so I'm good.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jul 12, 2014)

Hmm... Do I make one last order for something not specifically on her wishlist but is related to it in a couple of different ways, so I think she would be over the moon if she received it? The catch here is that this stuff probably has a two to three week turnaround time at this point due to a recent sale.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 12, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Hmm... Do I make one last order for something not specifically on her wishlist but is related to it in a couple of different ways, so I think she would be over the moon if she received it? The catch here is that this stuff probably has a two to three week turnaround time at this point due to a recent sale.


I think most of the time the answer is always yes! There's still plenty of time before gifts are sent out for you to receive it.


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## jocedun (Jul 12, 2014)

You ladies are making my worried that my gift is heavy/large enough!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I think my total productage could probably be squeezed into a Birchbox-sized box... but when I add packing materials and cute stuff like that, it might double in size. Still, it will probably weigh under a pound!

My girl is really only into make-up, so maybe that's why my package doesn't have a lot of heft.... or I've done something terribly, terrible wrong!  :wassatt:


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## cobainrls (Jul 12, 2014)

jocedun said:


> You ladies are making my worried that my gift is heavy/large enough!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> I think my total productage could probably be squeezed into a Birchbox-sized box... but when I add packing materials and cute stuff like that, it might double in size. Still, it will probably weigh under a pound!
> 
> My girl is really only into make-up, so maybe that's why my package doesn't have a lot of heft.... or I've done something terribly, terrible wrong! :wassatt:


I dont know that mine is much bigger. I know my gift wont fit in a large shipping box. Maybe a medium once its all wrapped up. I decided not to compare my gifts with everyone else's because everyone is different.


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## jocedun (Jul 12, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I dont know that mine is much bigger. I know my gift wont fit in a large shipping box. Maybe a medium once its all wrapped up. I decided not to compare my gifts with everyone else's because everyone is different.


That is very true! Size doesn't matter.....   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> My gift will still pack a punch (I hope!).


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## meaganola (Jul 12, 2014)

jocedun said:


> You ladies are making my worried that my gift is heavy/large enough!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> I think my total productage could probably be squeezed into a Birchbox-sized box... but when I add packing materials and cute stuff like that, it might double in size. Still, it will probably weigh under a pound!
> 
> My girl is really only into make-up, so maybe that's why my package doesn't have a lot of heft.... or I've done something terribly, terrible wrong! :wassatt:


I wouldn't get too caught up in size. If your girl is a makeup fan, she is well aware of just how much awesome can come in a small box! I'm pretty sure the concept of the TARDIS came from someone's makeup kit.

(Depending on what it is, even a small packet can knock someone's socks off. A bunch of indie pigments = tiny package of pure joy!)


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## ashleylind (Jul 12, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Hmm... Do I make one last order for something not specifically on her wishlist but is related to it in a couple of different ways, so I think she would be over the moon if she received it? The catch here is that this stuff probably has a two to three week turnaround time at this point due to a recent sale.


Make another order! I have one order that won't arrive until September, but I think it'd beyond perfect for her – so I'm just telling her what it is and the estimated arrival date.



meaganola said:


> I wouldn't get too caught up in size. If your girl is a makeup fan, she is well aware of just how much awesome can come in a small box! I'm pretty sure the concept of the TARDIS came from someone's makeup kit.
> 
> (Depending on what it is, even a small packet can knock someone's socks off. A bunch of indie pigments = tiny package of pure joy!)


I love that Doctor Who just got brought up in this! And yeah, if my girl was only into makeup, my box would be much smaller.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 12, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Hmm... Do I make one last order for something not specifically on her wishlist but is related to it in a couple of different ways, so I think she would be over the moon if she received it? The catch here is that this stuff probably has a two to three week turnaround time at this point due to a recent sale.


Do it! Sounds special!


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## Lolo22 (Jul 12, 2014)

jocedun said:


> You ladies are making my worried that my gift is heavy/large enough!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> I think my total productage could probably be squeezed into a Birchbox-sized box... but when I add packing materials and cute stuff like that, it might double in size. Still, it will probably weigh under a pound!
> 
> My girl is really only into make-up, so maybe that's why my package doesn't have a lot of heft.... or I've done something terribly, terrible wrong! :wassatt:


I was just thinking about this too. My gift is very makeup centric and much smaller (and lighter) than my midsummer gift. It seems like less goodies but there's really a lot there and it's great stuff (well hopefully she thinks so!). I'm also going to have to pack it very tight since makeup is much more breakable than the lotions and marshmallows that were in my midsummer gift!


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## ashleylind (Jul 12, 2014)

Question: One of KC's bigger local companies is a popcorn place. Do you think popcorn would hold up in the heat, or would it go stale?


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## meaganola (Jul 12, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Make another order! I have one order that won't arrive until September, but I think it'd beyond perfect for her – so I'm just telling her what it is and the estimated arrival date.


Okay, just as soon as my laptop starts cooperating, I'll do it!



> I love that Doctor Who just got brought up in this! And yeah, if my girl was only into makeup, my box would be much smaller.


This is what my Midsummer present was packed in:

 /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Dashery (Jul 12, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Question: One of KC's bigger local companies is a popcorn place. Do you think popcorn would hold up in the heat, or would it go stale?


I think it'd probably be okay, so long as there's nothing on it that would melt (like chocolate or caramel). But then again, I've never shipped popcorn...  But hey, if it goes stale, you can just say it's packing popcorn to keep the other stuff safe!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## chelsealady (Jul 12, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Question: One of KC's bigger local companies is a popcorn place. Do you think popcorn would hold up in the heat, or would it go stale?


I'm having the same debate with myself over a fried pie.


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## valeried44 (Jul 12, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Hmm... Do I make one last order for something not specifically on her wishlist but is related to it in a couple of different ways, so I think she would be over the moon if she received it? The catch here is that this stuff probably has a two to three week turnaround time at this point due to a recent sale.


Heck yeah! Plenty of time left. 

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who was worried about the size/contents of the gift.  My giftee's preference is really just makeup.  I'll definitely add a few other things, but it's not going to be that big or heavy.


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## cobainrls (Jul 12, 2014)

Just think how many chapsticks, lip glosses, lipsticks you could fit in a birchbox. Even things like mascara and eyeliner. So when you start thinking like that, it isn't so small  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I don't think any of us on here would mind a birchbox of make-up/packets/goodies. It really isn't that small  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jul 12, 2014)

Looking at all the items I have so far and knowing the size of the two or so things I'm waiting on, mine is also small, but makeup is just so tiny, that you can cram a whole lot of amazingness into a small package!

I think everyone here just loves the fact that someone is taking time out of their busy schedules to find a fun gift for them! The items themselves are great and just knowing someone was thinking of you, is one of the best things about all this!

Also, by gathering my stuff all up, I've realized 85% of it is the same product type  Maybe I need to branch out more lol


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## Babs28 (Jul 12, 2014)

I haven't even tried boxing up the stuff for my Buddy yet.  Oi vey!  I think it's going to be a tough one.  One thing is very "big", relatively speaking and some of the things will require tons of protective wrapping!  I probably should start playing box Tetris!!!


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 12, 2014)

Mine is barely fitting in a flat rate box, and I still have three more items!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 12, 2014)

Dashery said:


> I think it'd probably be okay, so long as there's nothing on it that would melt (like chocolate or caramel). But then again, I've never shipped popcorn...  But hey, if it goes stale, you can just say it's packing popcorn to keep the other stuff safe!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


 One of my dogs once ate an entire box of packing peanuts.  He would love it if someone sent me popcorn that went stale.  I am sure it would taste much better than styrofoam!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## marigoldsue (Jul 12, 2014)

Question for you gardeners.  Have you had any luck ordering bushes online?  I am in the midst of redoing my yard, and the prices online are much better than what I am riding locally.  I just wondered about the quality.


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## meaganola (Jul 12, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> One of my dogs once ate an entire box of packing peanuts.  He would love it if someone sent me popcorn that went stale.  I am sure it would taste much better than styrofoam!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


My cats love those packing peanuts made out of corn.  They have approximately all of the batshit.


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## rachelshine (Jul 12, 2014)

@@meaganola 1) OMG SO JEALOUS ABOUT YOUR TARDIS LUNCHBOX!!!!! 2) Make the order, it sounds special and your girl will appreciate it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

I have a few final touches to put on my box/waiting on some things to be delivered and then I think I will finally be done. I want to keep buying ALL THE THINGS, but then realize I have actually spent all my real $$ so must stop.


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## ashleylind (Jul 12, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> I'm having the same debate with myself over a fried pie.


Fried pie sounds amazing. I feel it's worth the risk.


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## jayeme (Jul 12, 2014)

Thanks for all the input re: sending things someone has already received. I think I will go ahead and leave them in, just in case she likes them enough to want duplicates, and if not she can always trade/give them away. 

Now, another question: how would you feel about samples for men? Is there a man in your life who would use them? I want to include a bunch of samples with my gift and as I was going through, I realized I have lots of men's samples (some fragrance, some skincare) but no one who will use them (although I do sometimes use the skincare myself). So, do you have a man who would like a few sample goodies?


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## marigoldsue (Jul 12, 2014)

The man in my life would LOVE having skin care samples included in my box.  He likes facials even more than I do.  Begs me almost daily for masks, exfoliation, serums, good moisturizers.  I have been raiding my stash because I just don't know what is good of the mens brands.


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## cobainrls (Jul 12, 2014)

I can't get my husband to try anything skincare  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I can get him to wear a biore strip on his nose and he would kill me if he knew I told you guys  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jul 12, 2014)

I don't have a boyfriend/husband to give them to and my brothers, stepdad etc are not at all into that stuff, so I was gonna say it's not really something I'd be able to share. Then, I remembered while hanging with my male bff Wednesday, he was complaining about the skin below his beard being icky and wanting to find face care stuff. So I'm sure any male oriented samples, face care, cologne samples etc, I might get would be appreciated by him.


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## jennm149 (Jul 12, 2014)

My husband is still making his way through the backlog of men's samples I have received, some on purpose, some not. In fact, a set of Lab Series samples came in my Ulta 3 pack yesterday.


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## trekkersangel (Jul 12, 2014)

During secret Santa my Santa sent a ton of men's samples for my hubby! He laughed like it was silly, but then I made him try them &amp; he's still raving about some of them! He's now a sample addict!


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## Jac13 (Jul 12, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Question: One of KC's bigger local companies is a popcorn place. Do you think popcorn would hold up in the heat, or would it go stale?


I think popcorn would be great.


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## Jac13 (Jul 12, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Eeek!!!!  There is something I got for my swap buddy that is super duper duper special that I had special ordered just for her forever ago &amp; it finally arrived today. . . &amp; boy is it gorgeous!!!  And guess what?  It's not make-up related AT ALL. . . but it sparkles.
> 
> So who's my swap buddy that gets to have it?  I'm not telling.  :smiletongue:


I can't wait to see what is and what lucky lady gets it.


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## Jac13 (Jul 12, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Does anyone have any fav silly drugstore non make up items that they constantly use?
> 
> I love learning about other peoples favorite things as I've come across some great items that way.
> 
> Here's my example - I'm obsessed with the thicker Goody Stay put black elastics - but I think they are phasing them out!!!  http://www.drugstore.com/goody-stayput-elastics-black/qxp206744?catid=335599 - I rarely go a day without using one even if its just when I'm cooking or working out - but they don't sell them where I live  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  so whenever I'm somewhere that has them I try to stock up.


I like color gel pens. I also love smarties candy. Yes smarties!!


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## Jac13 (Jul 12, 2014)

Ok I ordered something for my Swap Buddy. I am still putting items together.


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## dancersmum (Jul 12, 2014)

My box couldn't be too heavy as shipping is spendy from where I am...but I believe size matters not...  Besides as a lover of minis - I'd imagine you could pack a whole lot of wonderful into a small space!

anyone else been obsessively following the midsummer thread - the reveals are just so fully of happy lol!  I have a feeling ours will be just as fun! - Can't wait to see how all the stalking  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> turns out!


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## jesemiaud (Jul 12, 2014)

My hubby is not into any kind of skin care, won't wear cologne, and is bald, lol.I'm not sure that there are any samples that he would try, unfortunately. However, if my swap buddy wanted to send some, we could drop them off t the homeless shelter where our church helps.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 12, 2014)

UGGGGGGHHHHH   :angry:   :angry:   :angry:   :scared:   I lost a major piece in my swap buddy's gift! i have no clue where it went! baaaaahhhh. don't move and do a ton of swaps at the same time. its a bad idea. i'm so sad. do i go out and buy another? do i be OK with what i have so far?


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## Lolo22 (Jul 12, 2014)

My bf is a construction worker and I can barely get him to clip his toenails. He won't go near 1/2 the drawers/cabinets in the bathroom lol.


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## ashleylind (Jul 12, 2014)

I think my husband would use samples.


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## lastnite629 (Jul 12, 2014)

My husband would use samples.  He's always trying out my skin creams, body washes, etc.  He has a full beard and thought I was nuts when I bought him a special beard shampoo.  Now he's always talking about how soft his beard is. lol


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## lastnite629 (Jul 12, 2014)

I wish West Virginia was known for something fun I could send my buddy.  I don't think anybody really wants coal in a swap.  :lol:


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## msambrosia (Jul 12, 2014)

No boyfriend or husband to gift men's samples to, but my brother would gladly take them.


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## chelsealady (Jul 13, 2014)

My husband won't try anything. Never. Ever. It drives me crazy. Because I'm over here like a squirrel on speed. Let me try that. Oh that looks good let me try that. I definitely have to try that. I hope I can try that. Lol.

The last time I got him to try something new was some Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoo, conditioner and soap. He loves it. So I've probably used up my "get him to try new things card" for the year.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 13, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Question for you gardeners.  Have you had any luck ordering bushes online?  I am in the midst of redoing my yard, and the prices online are much better than what I am riding locally.  I just wondered about the quality.


It depends (fun answer I know).  I would stay away from sites like Michigan Bulb and look at sites of private nurseries and greenhouses (think of it as buying at a nice nursery instead of wal-mart).  Usually these plants are better cared for and will have less shock.  They are usually shipped bare root and are smaller, but that can be nice as you do not need to dig such huge holes--but it will take them a little longer to get to the same size (I find them to be similarly sized after 2-3 years as nursery plants are usually healthier plants).  Plants that die down in the fall/winter are my favorite to buy online--hydrangeas and peonies, etc. as their height is year-to-year (dependent on roots and soil) instead of cumulative.  I also have had great success with blueberries and raspberries as it is often difficult to get too many varieties locally.  If you have small local greenhouses or farmers markets, I would also look there--it is amazing how much pricing can vary from one place to another.


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## CurlyTails (Jul 13, 2014)

I've been trying to think of something local to send with no luck. Then I went to the Trader Joe's that just opened by me and thought maybe there are stores that people have wanted to go or like that are not close to them but may be near their Swapbuddy, if that makes sense.


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## dancersmum (Jul 13, 2014)

we have no trader joe access so one my friends often sends us lovely treats from there at Xmas - love some of the caramel chocolate treats and the peanut butter cups that she sends us especially!  I would say that is an awesome idea @@CurlyTails!


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## ashleylind (Jul 13, 2014)

Does anyone else get ridiculously proud of themselves when they finish a beauty sample?

Since I rotate between several products at a time with most skincare items, I don't finish samples that quickly. In the past 2 weeks, I've finished 2 samples of lotions, 2 cleansers, 1 serum, 1 eye cream, 1 exfoliant, several foils and 1 full size body wash. I feel like such an accomplisher. Things like this help me justify why I always need an endless supply of skincare items.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## CurlyTails (Jul 13, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Does anyone else get ridiculously proud of themselves when they finish a beauty sample?
> 
> Since I rotate between several products at a time with most skincare items, I don't finish samples that quickly. In the past 2 weeks, I've finished 2 samples of lotions, 2 cleansers, 1 serum, 1 eye cream, 1 exfoliant, several foils and 1 full size body wash. I feel like such an accomplisher. Things like this help me justify why I always need an endless supply of skincare items.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Yes! Posting on the used it up thread is one of my favorite activities each month  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Dashery (Jul 13, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> No boyfriend or husband to gift men's samples to, but my brother would gladly take them.


With you there. Except on the brother part. Hahahaha no. He would take nothing.


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## BSquared (Jul 13, 2014)

My husband is a cologne hoarder so if my buddy has any samples they will never use, I'm sure he'd be thrilled to take them off your hands!

And yes I agree things from stores you don't have would be great. Example: we don't have rite aid, so I'd love to get some Julie g nail polish or Jessie's girl stuff!


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 13, 2014)

Current obsessions:

Food (ha always food first): those flavored almonds, ate an entire package if the strawberry ones and ordered blueberry ones from nature box. Love! Also sweet potato chips. I eat the entire bag. Oh and cupcakes! Ha!

Makeup: hmm, I tend to prefer matte eyeshadows but the eyeshadow pencil from sumita in my glossybox has me rethinking shimmer. I might have to see what other shades that pencil comes in.

Dollarstore/drugstore finds: athletic socks, I forgot to pack mine and stopped at the dollar store for socks. They are my favorite socks, I'm constantly rewashing them and wearing them and they were 2 for $1! Also, walgreens sells these disposable toothbrush covers, I can only find them at one walgreens but I use the heck out if them.

Using up samples: yes! Belong to a group on FB that has a fun "use it up" each month, I take pictures of all the samples and stuff I use up each month, mostly it's for b&amp;bw stuff but I lost my used samples and other stuff.

My bf would use samples, not hair stuff he hates product in his hair, says it feels dirty. I don't think men are big into not washing their hair for several days to maintain style or health. My bf would use lotions, body wash or face washes, but no hair and no colognes, he wears them, just not everyday.


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## meaganola (Jul 13, 2014)

curlytails said:


> I've been trying to think of something local to send with no luck. Then I went to the Trader Joe's that just opened by me and thought maybe there are stores that people have wanted to go or like that are not close to them but may be near their Swapbuddy, if that makes sense.


Check out your regular grocery store for a locally-made product!  You might be surprised at the things you take for granted at your local supermarket that aren't outside your area.  Whenever I go on a trip, I like to hit the grocery stores to see what they have that my area doesn't.  Regional snacks (chips, candy, cookies, crackers, nuts) are always awesome, and I once sent someone a jar of locally-made curry sauce since it's made in my town.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 13, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Question for you gardeners. Have you had any luck ordering bushes online? I am in the midst of redoing my yard, and the prices online are much better than what I am riding locally. I just wondered about the quality.


I have never ordered any plants online. Though I've really wanted to! I don't have a lot of faith in Minnesotans climate so I'd rather just buy plants that are already surviving here  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
Anyway, if you don't mind waiting, my local nurseries usually start slashing prices next month (40-50% off or bogo deals). I ripped out everything when we moved here and waited for the fall sales. I got a lot of flowering shrubs that were already done blooming for the year. Most nurseries have mailing lists or even FB pages now where you can keep an eye on the sales.


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## CurlyTails (Jul 13, 2014)

I spent the morning wrapping and have managed to fit everything into a box. Now to see how much it would cost to ship said box.


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## Christa W (Jul 13, 2014)

I think my boyfriend would love samples. He's uses everything I give him. He's the one who has my last Ipsy moisturizer.


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## Jac13 (Jul 13, 2014)

@@meaganola I love buying curry and other spices from different regions. Local items are always fun to receive. I think the men's samples would be a pleasant surprise. I try to send my brother items from time to time since his family are not real big gift grifters. So a little "happy" goes along way.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 13, 2014)

I am basically the worst at not buying things on my wish list, so to my swap buddy I love dupes! I'm sorry if I am being a pain in your rear and buying up all the things.

I have just one or two more orders planned for my person I think, and then I'll have everything minus more samples I'm planning on swapping and getting in boxes this month. Then I think I need to hunt for a local snack as well!


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## ashleylind (Jul 13, 2014)

curlytails said:


> Yes! Posting on the used it up thread is one of my favorite activities each month  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I didn't know this existed!!!


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## Dashery (Jul 13, 2014)

Aww, man!I just now came up with the perfect theme for my girl. Well, at least I still have time...


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## Kelli (Jul 13, 2014)

To my person: If your gift is not as great as you would like, BLAME Ulta and Sephora LOL I am having horrible luck with them.

First, I try to get a product she'd like from Ulta and the two colors I wanted for her were out of stock online. I tried my "local" Ulta and they, too, were out of stock of the colors she'd like most. *sigh*

And because I had to wait for a Sephora gift card to come that I redeemed for from Swagbucks and then wait until tomorrow when I get paid to cover the rest of the order, I have had FOUR, yes 4! items for her go out of stock in the last week and a half.  Each time something went OOS I replaced it and sometimes rearranged the whole cart to get everything just right and BAM a couple days later, another item would become OOS.

All that being said, I really hope nothing goes out of stock on Sephora.com before tomorrow afternoon when my money will be in the bank! I think I have some really great items right now and I'd hate to have to change it all around AGAIN!


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## dancersmum (Jul 13, 2014)

@@Dashery - you look amazing with those wigs on....STUNNING!


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## Dashery (Jul 13, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@Dashery - you look amazing with those wigs on....STUNNING!


Ahhh! :blush: You're too kind! Thank you!  :hugs3:


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## DonnaD (Jul 13, 2014)

My husband wouldn't use samples.  He washes his hair with body wash or his body with shampoo if he runs out of either because God forbid he open the cabinet and get a new bottle for himself.  I can only imagine the crabbing and cursing he'd do trying to open a foil packet.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 14, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> @@Dashery - you look amazing with those wigs on....STUNNING!


Totally agree!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 14, 2014)

Hit the Nordstrom anniversary pre-sale today and made the last of my purchases, except for a couple of local items I want to pick up.  Two orders being delivered this week.  And one thing I am anxiously waiting on shipping news.  So close to being done.  I will be wapping like crazy this week.  I have this wrapping to do and my son's 18th b-day is Friday.  Not sure what I will do when all of my shopping fun is over.  I love shopping for other people.


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## meaganola (Jul 14, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Not sure what I will do when all of my shopping fun is over. I love shopping for other people.


How do you feel about school supplies?  It's back-to-school time, and there are always school supply drives this time of year like toy drives all over the place at Christmas.  I actually buy my nephews' school supplies because my mom was *obsessed* with school supplies (I was in college before I got to pick out my own school supplies because she always binge-shopped on what *she* liked, so there was no getting the pens *I* liked until I started sneak-buying them at the college bookstore), and I just *know* she would have insisted on buying them for the nephews, but she passed away when the older one was two and my sister-in-law had just -- like a few weeks earlier -- found out she was pregnant with kid number two.  I buy their school supplies (except gym clothes, backpacks, and expensive calculators) in her honor and memory. 

And there are frequently super bonkers sales on certain basic things, like a quarter for a pack of notebook paper, glue, crayons, or rulers.  I might have to pay closer attention to what's on sale when and start stocking up during those sales to donate to the local shelter where I donated a bunch of shower gel last year.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 14, 2014)

meaganola said:


> How do you feel about school supplies?  It's back-to-school time, and there are always school supply drives this time of year like toy drives all over the place at Christmas.  I actually buy my nephews' school supplies because my mom was *obsessed* with school supplies (I was in college before I got to pick out my own school supplies because she always binge-shopped on what *she* liked, so there was no getting the pens *I* liked until I started sneak-buying them at the college bookstore), and I just *know* she would have insisted on buying them for the nephews, but she passed away when the older one was two and my sister-in-law had just -- like a few weeks earlier -- found out she was pregnant with kid number two.  I buy their school supplies (except gym clothes, backpacks, and expensive calculators) in her honor and memory.
> 
> And there are frequently super bonkers sales on certain basic things, like a quarter for a pack of notebook paper, glue, crayons, or rulers.  I might have to pay closer attention to what's on sale when and start stocking up during those sales to donate to the local shelter where I donated a bunch of shower gel last year.


Yep.  I usually do school drive shopping.

And I will have a dorm room to shop for as the son starts college in August.  

And I always find someone to shop for in September in honor of my daughter.  Her birthday was in September, and I take the money I would have spent on a birthday gift for her and do something for someone who can use a little help, but doesn't necessarily qualify for programs that provide help.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 14, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Hit the Nordstrom anniversary pre-sale today and made the last of my purchases, except for a couple of local items I want to pick up. Two orders being delivered this week. And one thing I am anxiously waiting on shipping news. So close to being done. I will be wapping like crazy this week. I have this wrapping to do and my son's 18th b-day is Friday. Not sure what I will do when all of my shopping fun is over. I love shopping for other people.


I'm so pumped for the sale. I need a ton of more work-friendly clothes! It's a blessing and a curse that my new job is SO CASUAL like flip flops and shorts on the men casual. You can shop for me  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> keep an eye out for cute clothes!

I didn't see any cool beauty sets like last year though and my jumbo Clinique Moisture Surge Intense is s going strong.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 14, 2014)

EVERYONE HOLD YOUR BREATH! I'll be defending my thesis in an hour ... Oh Lordy oh Lordy! I've gone over my paper a bunch of times, my intro is cute and charming and funny just like the way my professors know me, and I'm wearing an awesome royal blue chiffon maxi skirt with a lace peplum top. If I'm gonna be the only girl, might as well look the part  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

To celebrate, I plan on having a nice Monday brunch. Then I will place my furniture order and buy some ASOS clothes! ...so long as I pass!

IM SO EXCITED. and scared. Mostly excited!


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 14, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> EVERYONE HOLD YOUR BREATH! I'll be defending my thesis in an hour ... Oh Lordy oh Lordy! I've gone over my paper a bunch of times, my intro is cute and charming and funny just like the way my professors know me, and I'm wearing an awesome royal blue chiffon maxi skirt with a lace peplum top. If I'm gonna be the only girl, might as well look the part  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> To celebrate, I plan on having a nice Monday brunch. Then I will place my furniture order and buy some ASOS clothes! ...so long as I pass!
> 
> IM SO EXCITED. and scared. Mostly excited!


You will do great!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dancersmum (Jul 14, 2014)

@ - you will be AWESOME!!!  Sending you all the best vibes.  Not only will you pass... psssshhhhh....you will  you will ROCK!  GO FORTH AND BE AWESOME!


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## Lolo22 (Jul 14, 2014)

@ good luck!!!


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## Dashery (Jul 14, 2014)

@ You can do it! (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡

 
And @@marigoldsue  Thank you!


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## v0ltagekid (Jul 14, 2014)

I got my buddy everything on her list, I hope she likes everything  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

I have almost everything in hand, waiting for one more package from Ulta and one from Amazon. 

Does anyone know when we will be receiving addresses? 

Thanks :3 

I am really excited to send my buddy her stuffs :3


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## wadedl (Jul 14, 2014)

@usofjessamerica Best of Luck!

I was at the Anniversary pre-sale and was hoping to buy a set of brushes but I fell in love with the Nars #44 brush and only bought that. My current shadow brushes are all a bit large for my eyes so thats a great new addition. I may have to get the blush one next or that new countour palette, I tried it in the darkest color and really liked how it looked.  It was hard shopping in the cramped pre-sale section so maybe that is why I did not find things so appealing. Or maybe knowing my kids go back to school in just over a week and I have to go back to school shopping still.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 14, 2014)

Thanks for all the well wishes!! Its done! Just have to do a few edits (literally, add a footnote and fix a typo) then I'm good to go!!

I celebrated by placing a nice ASOS order right after  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## tgooberbutt (Jul 14, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Thanks for all the well wishes!! Its done! Just have to do a few edits (literally, add a footnote and fix a typo) then I'm good to go!!
> 
> I celebrated by placing a nice ASOS order right after  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Congrats!!!!! Excellent feeling, right?!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 14, 2014)

tgooberbutt said:


> Congrats!!!!! Excellent feeling, right?!


I feel like I lost like 20 pounds because a great weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! This is an incredibly beautiful feeling!


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## rachelshine (Jul 14, 2014)

@ WOOHOO  :wizard:   :wizard:   :wizard:


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## BSquared (Jul 14, 2014)

Congrats @! How exciting!!!


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## SaraP (Jul 14, 2014)

:mussical: Great job @! :mussical:


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## CurlyTails (Jul 14, 2014)

@ Congrats!!!


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## Kelli (Jul 14, 2014)

Way to go @ !


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## bonita22 (Jul 14, 2014)

Congrats @!


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## valeried44 (Jul 14, 2014)

@  Hooray!!


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## jesemiaud (Jul 14, 2014)

Congrats @! That's awesome!


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## Kelli (Jul 14, 2014)

Placed my Sephora order (nothing else went OOS!!) and two small Etsy orders. I am on my way to RiteAid to grab a few more small things and then I think I am done! Can't wait to get everything all wrapped up. I don't have theme necessarily, but a thought just occurred to me on a fun way to tag all the items, so we'll see if it ends up working out!


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## BSquared (Jul 14, 2014)

I gotta get wrapping too!! I think that's my project for the weekend since I have no plans-go get a box and start to wrap! To my buddy: I apologize in advance, I am a DREADFUL wrapper, so I'm just going to kind of hope for the best but it probably won't be pretty.


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## rachelshine (Jul 14, 2014)

bsquared said:


> I gotta get wrapping too!! I think that's my project for the weekend since I have no plans-go get a box and start to wrap! To my buddy: I apologize in advance, I am a DREADFUL wrapper, so I'm just going to kind of hope for the best but it probably won't be pretty.


Was just about to say the same thing! I have been look at the Midsummer thread and thinking "holy crap these ladies know how to wrap". I am awful. Tissue paper + boxes = me wrapping.


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## SaraP (Jul 14, 2014)

Hi ya'll, I've been camping but keeping up reading when we had internet....I'm done shopping and my last 2 orders came while I was gone, so now just need to wrap and finish/start my "homemade" part of my gift. I had a great idea on how to wrap everything, now we'll see how well I can execute it :wassatt:

(a little late but...)

Current Obsessions:

Make-Up: pen eyeliners, haven't try'em yet....

Bath &amp; Body: Caldrea body wash in Coconut Fig Leaf, omg it's heaven!

Food: Sushi....ummmm...Sushi

Colors: Pink, Brown and Gold

Treat: Popcorn....ummm....Popcorn

Splurge: Naps and Nars :smilehappyyes:

*Also I got a foodie type item for gift, but it's kinda stinky...not sure if I should send it or not?


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## rachelshine (Jul 14, 2014)

@@SaraP ohhh stinky food?! I am intrigued. I want it to be in the box just so we can find out what it is!


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## wadedl (Jul 14, 2014)

My box is almost ready to seal up just working on a hand made project but now I am not so sure it is going to turn out. Maybe I should have stuck to painting.


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## SaraP (Jul 14, 2014)

Stinky but yumm-o!


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## Christa W (Jul 14, 2014)

If its me I will take stinky food item.


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## dancersmum (Jul 14, 2014)

@sarap-  stinky - intriguing lol!  i would say send it!


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## Kelli (Jul 14, 2014)

> Stinky but yumm-o!


Well, if it's yummy, I say send it!

EDIT: ok, I'm about to reveal my total geekness. Weird Al has a new album coming out tomorrow and I can't wait to get it LOL. He's releasing a new music video everyday for 8 straight days and I'm like a total nerd anxiously awaiting each one (I swear I'm *not* a 15 yr old boy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ). Today's was for his parody of Pharrell's "Happy" and it's called "Tacky". &lt;3


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## Babs28 (Jul 14, 2014)

Addresses will be sent out over the next two days by tgooberbutt and me so keep an eye out for them! If you do not receive yours by Thursday evening, please PM me.

@@SaraP Yay for stinky food!  I say send it!!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> The stinkier the better!!  nom nom!

I am way behind on posting. Let's see. My current obsession is figuring out how to convince a judge that my birth certificate was printed with the wrong year on it and I will NOT be turning 40 in three weeks!!  For some reason, my birthday this year is really bumming me out!! :angry: I'm also obsessed with purging and packing as I'm moving on Aug 1st (I couldn't let @ have all the moving fun!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> )!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I found a great townhouse that is in the gated community I have been dying to get into since I was considering moving back to NJ. The exciting thing for me is that there are 3 pools and one is adult only. The rest I am excited about for Z - lots of kids around, playgrounds, pools, sidewalks for him to ride his bike on!  And I really like the townhouse too. Not too big, in fact, not big at all, but not too small either!  Shopping for my swap buddy and realizing that I am a gift card and "points"/rewards hoarder. I tend to not use them until they are about to expire!   

As for "Current Obsessions":

Make-Up : my new NARS Multiple in Orgasm and the Guerlain Météorites Perles I just received from my BG GCs!! I think I am going to breakdown and buy the push up eyeliner from Benefit at Ulta. 

Bath &amp; Body: LUSH EVERYTHING!!  I went to the LUSH grand opening party at the mall by my house on Saturday (it's literally 3 minutes driving  from my job! Scary!) and bought lots of goodies (and spent too much money) plus I received a few free gifts as well. I don't know the names of any of the stuff yet though!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   The place I'm moving out of has a jacuzzi bathtub that I am always too busy to use.  I will definitely need to make use of it before I move out!

House stuff: New bedroom set (sheets, comforter, theme, etc) for Z, new dinner plates set for me plus a new area rug and I may buy an antique armoire I've had my eye on for quite some time.

Food: A candy lollipop thingy that I received as a gift. It's so YUMMY!! MMMM!

Colors: Pink and Gold 

Treat: that lollipop and Quickchek Iced coffees with Italian Sweet Cream creamer! Sadly, I have been living off them!

Splurge: A Nap, any new clothes that I get for at least 85% off!  My most recent is a L.A.M.B cashmere sweater. Retail: $385 (sorry but WHO pays that much money for a convertible "summer" sweater, even if it is cashmere? It's so thin, you have to wear a tank or cami under it), I paid, $16.95 with free shipping!!  YAY me!  (Sorry, I had to brag about my amazing steal. None of my real life friends get it).


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## Babs28 (Jul 14, 2014)

@@SaraP - send it here and include some fondant, please!!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   BTW, did you ever post pics of your daughter's birthday cake that you decorated? I think I missed the post!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Jac13 (Jul 15, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Thanks for all the well wishes!! Its done! Just have to do a few edits (literally, add a footnote and fix a typo) then I'm good to go!!
> 
> I celebrated by placing a nice ASOS order right after  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Congrats!!! We knew you could do it. You can now turn up!


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## Jac13 (Jul 15, 2014)

Kelli said:


> Well, if it's yummy, I say send it!
> 
> EDIT: ok, I'm about to reveal my total geekness. Weird Al has a new album coming out tomorrow and I can't wait to get it LOL. He's releasing a new music video everyday for 8 straight days and I'm like a total nerd anxiously awaiting each one (I swear I'm *not* a 15 yr old boy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ). Today's was for his parody of Pharrell's "Happy" and it's called "Tacky". &lt;3


I guess I am a geek too because I love Weird Al. I use to listen to him all the time growing up. I loved his MJ stuff. "Just Eat It" was my favorite. Ok I am sounding old, lol.


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## Christa W (Jul 15, 2014)

My favorite Weird Al is Yoda followed by White &amp; Nerdy!! I am so excited for this too!!!


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## SaraP (Jul 15, 2014)

@@Babs28 I posted some of the cupcake toppers and here's a shot of some of the button ones (only the photo on my phone)


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## valeried44 (Jul 15, 2014)

@@SaraP  Cute!  I can't get over how adorable those cupcakes are!


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## Christa W (Jul 15, 2014)

I'm getting so nervous!!! I can't wait for my buddy to get her stuff!! I wish I could have spent more... Looks like one item is still not shipped so I'm working on a back up as well as the "homemade" element!!!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 15, 2014)

Ugh.  Not a great start to the day here.  I overslept (which is I guess an improvement over the night of patchy sleep lately) and woke up to a work email telling me that the company I have spent the last 14 years representing has reached agreement to merge with a rival company (who already has their own representation).  Job situation will be in flux for about the next year while we wait to see if merger passes regulation and if it does where the litigation defense will land.

I am not great at handling ambiguity.  And I am overly fatigued right now.  B/f has major sleep issues (and has had them for years).  His lack of sleep is starting to impact the quality of my sleep.  I keep waking up during the night every time he tosses and turns and am afraid my sleep is bothering him.  Does anyone have any thing they have used to help them stay asleep?  (I know melatonin does nothing for him) He can fall asleep okay.  But he keeps waking up during the night and is not able to go back to sleep.  His doctor has had him on every medication you can think of over the last 5-6 years.  Right now, nothing seems to be helping.  He might get a total of two hours of sleep a night.  But he never gets to the deep REM sleep.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 15, 2014)

sarap said:


> Splurge: Naps and Nars :smilehappyyes:


Just a heads up, if you feel like splurging on NARs, the last weekend of the month Nordstrom is having a GREAT gwp.  It is a blush palette (four colors including Orgasm and two colors that are exclusive to the palette) and some little tube of something or other free with a $250 purchse.  That's a big purchase, but I use a lot of their skin care and I am almost out of foundation.  I should be able to hit it with no problem.  They are taking pre-orders now.


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 15, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Ugh.  Not a great start to the day here.  I overslept (which is I guess an improvement over the night of patchy sleep lately) and woke up to a work email telling me that the company I have spent the last 14 years representing has reached agreement to merge with a rival company (who already has their own representation).  Job situation will be in flux for about the next year while we wait to see if merger passes regulation and if it does where the litigation defense will land.
> 
> I am not great at handling ambiguity.  And I am overly fatigued right now.  B/f has major sleep issues (and has had them for years).  His lack of sleep is starting to impact the quality of my sleep.  I keep waking up during the night every time he tosses and turns and am afraid my sleep is bothering him.  Does anyone have any thing they have used to help them stay asleep?  (I know melatonin does nothing for him) He can fall asleep okay.  But he keeps waking up during the night and is not able to go back to sleep.  His doctor has had him on every medication you can think of over the last 5-6 years.  Right now, nothing seems to be helping.  He might get a total of two hours of sleep a night.  But he never gets to the deep REM sleep.


I take valerian and magnesium (Natural Calm) to help me sleep. They're now saying being woken up is as bad as getting 4 hours of sleep or less a night!  I get up once or twice a night almost every night though, mostly because I drink so much water I have to get up, that or the darn cat wants to eat and he starts punching my head if I don't get up.  Such a sweet boy. 

The best thing for me is to get regular exercise.  If I don't do some sort of physical activity each day my sleep is terrible.


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## lacylei (Jul 15, 2014)

I can't wait to get my package out in the mail. I have had it wrapped for at least two weeks! I am so excited I hope my person likes it. I got one bigger ticket item and a few small things and the rest of it is all stuff I already had. Im so nervous she will think something is dumb. I want to write up why I included what I did but I cant remember half of what I put in there now...


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## trekkersangel (Jul 15, 2014)

I've been sitting on my floor during my kiddos' nap time today with all the goodies spread out across my floor.  I think I finally have it all so I need to figure out how to wrap it &amp; fit it in a box.  TETRIS.  Yikes.  I hope it all fits in there.  ha ha ha.  I'm excited for the shipping window to come.  I can't wait to see what my swap buddy thinks of all her pretties.


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## SaraP (Jul 15, 2014)

Just purchased my wrap!! Kiddos are at the grandparents this week so I will have time to get it all together =)


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## marigoldsue (Jul 15, 2014)

I had ordered a pretty special non-makeup item for my buddy and it arrived today!!!   Oh my, oh my, oh my...I am sooooo excited.  I think she's gonna LOVE it!!!!!


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## Dashery (Jul 15, 2014)

Oh man, everyone here's packing and I'm like, "I just placed another order today". *smiles awkwardly*

On a side note, does anyone else ever randomly feel compelled to swatch their entire collection? Because for some reason, I just really love to swatch my stuff. And evidently, I can fit it all on my two forearms. So there's that.


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## jayeme (Jul 15, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Oh man, everyone here's packing and I'm like, "I just placed another order today". *smiles awkwardly*
> 
> On a side note, does anyone else ever randomly feel compelled to swatch their entire collection? Because for some reason, I just really love to swatch my stuff. And evidently, I can fit it all on my two forearms. So there's that.


Me! But I can't fit it all on two forearms. I usually go by type; like, I'll sit down and swatch all my single eyeshadows. Or all my cream blushes. And so on.


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## chelsealady (Jul 15, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Oh man, everyone here's packing and I'm like, "I just placed another order today". *smiles awkwardly*
> 
> On a side note, does anyone else ever randomly feel compelled to swatch their entire collection? Because for some reason, I just really love to swatch my stuff. And evidently, I can fit it all on my two forearms. So there's that.


Nope I'm not packed yet. I'm missing something. I don't know what it is yet but I'm missing something.

Apparently I'm bugging the fire out of my husband. Because he came home from the store with something made locally. He said I bought you something for your box.


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## Dashery (Jul 15, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> Nope I'm not packed yet. I'm missing something. I don't know what it is yet but I'm missing something.
> 
> Apparently I'm bugging the fire out of my husband. Because he came home from the store with something made locally. He said I bought you something for your box.


Aww, that's sweet! Or he's just hoping to end the madness!


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 15, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Oh man, everyone here's packing and I'm like, "I just placed another order today". *smiles awkwardly*
> 
> On a side note, does anyone else ever randomly feel compelled to swatch their entire collection? Because for some reason, I just really love to swatch my stuff. And evidently, I can fit it all on my two forearms. So there's that.


I just placed an order today, procrastination nation over here.


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## Christa W (Jul 15, 2014)

Grabbed my swap buddy just one more item.  I am so not fitting everything in this bag...


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## Jac13 (Jul 15, 2014)

I got my swap buddy info. I will wait until it's time to mail gifts.


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## jocedun (Jul 15, 2014)

Quick questions that I hope aren't too repetitive: 1) Where do we send a tracking number, if anywhere? 2) The shipping window doesn't start until July 27, right? That hasn't changed?

TIA! Also, super excited to see everyone's reveals, packaging, handwriting, creativity, etc!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dancersmum (Jul 15, 2014)

@@jocedun  - believe you send the tracking number to a roadie if you want to!  Along with whether or not to pass the info to your swap buddy or whether or not you wish it to be a surprise!

Yup that is the correct date for the shipping window.

https://www.makeuptalk.com/f/topic/132637-summerswap-2014-roadies-backstage-hangout/?hl=%2Broadies - this is where you can find one of us!


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## meaganola (Jul 15, 2014)

jocedun said:


> Quick questions that I hope aren't too repetitive: *1) Where do we send a tracking number, if anywhere? *2) The shipping window doesn't start until July 27, right? That hasn't changed?
> 
> TIA! Also, super excited to see everyone's reveals, packaging, handwriting, creativity, etc!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I don't think you necessarily need to send the tracking number.  Definitely get one (even if the recipient doesn't care, I always get tracking on all packages I send just because it gives me peace of mind as a sender to be able to see where it is at any given time), but I think you can decide whether to send it to your recipient via a roadie or just follow it on its journey to its new home.  I've had people send me tracking, give me a heads up when the package is a couple of days away, and not say a peep.  All approaches have worked out equally well.  As long as the package arrives, any approach is fine with me as a recipient.  I think the main thing is that *someone* -- you, a roadie, or your recipient -- should be able to keep an eye on tracking.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 16, 2014)

i forgot to buy something local.... i'll just send her a wheel of cheese and call it a day  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Dashery (Jul 16, 2014)

Yum! Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese.  ^_^ /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jul 16, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> i forgot to buy something local.... i'll just send her a wheel of cheese and call it a day  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Three words: Postcard. Bronze. Fonz.

(I totally forgot to see if I can find Portlandia postcards. The *real* Portlandia: the second-largest copper statue in the US, behind the Statue of Liberty.)


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## BSquared (Jul 16, 2014)

I would gladly take cheese  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Or send beer! I know Wisconsin loves their beer  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Lolo22 (Jul 16, 2014)

Waiting til just before I ship to pick up some delicious local macaroon cookies (have to check what's in the filling to make sure they'll be ok?  If not, I'm still getting them and eating them myself :lol: ).  Also found a completely genius packing material idea in this months Woman's Day lol.  My wrapping job is not going to be at all glamorous because there are SO MANY items in the box.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 16, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Grabbed my swap buddy just one more item.  I am so not fitting everything in this bag...


Haha.  This is me.  I swore I was done (except for local stuff, which I know what I am getting I just need to pick up) but last night I added a couple of small things for her to an order I was placing for me.


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## rachelshine (Jul 16, 2014)

Gahh, something local!! Hmmm. hopefully she likes some spice, because we're all about that here in AZ! Ohh, or maybe a cute baby cactus?! LOL


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## marigoldsue (Jul 16, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Waiting til just before I ship to pick up some delicious local macaroon cookies (have to check what's in the filling to make sure they'll be ok?  If not, I'm still getting them and eating them myself :lol: ).  Also found a completely genius packing material idea in this months Woman's Day lol.  My wrapping job is not going to be at all glamorous because there are SO MANY items in the box.


Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh...if these are coming from the place that use to be called Sweets the salted caramel ones are to die for!!! 

I would also highly recommend peanut butter from Hell's Kitchen.  Yummmmm.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 16, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh...if these are coming from the place that use to be called Sweets the salted caramel ones are to die for!!!


Cocoa &amp; Fig! Ever tried them?


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## button6004 (Jul 16, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> i forgot to buy something local.... i'll just send her a wheel of cheese and call it a day  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Are you the MKE area? Oh man. The cheese.  I went there for work a few years ago and ate approximately double my weight in cheese.


----------



## BSquared (Jul 16, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Cocoa &amp; Fig! Ever tried them?


Where is this and how have I never heard of it?!?!


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 16, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Cocoa &amp; Fig! Ever tried them?


Wow, I thought we had managed to try almost all of the local cupcake places.  I was in Minneapolis for 7 1/2 months about 4 years ago when my daughter had her bone marrow transplant.  She had always been a salty snacker, but her taste buds changed after transplant.  She craved sweets.  There was so little I could do for her during that time period.  She gained tons of weight, so she didn't want clothes.  She was living in a hospital room, so there was not really room for "things".   Going out to buy her cupcakes became the big "treat".  She called it "the summer of the cupcake".  I don't recall Cocoa &amp; Fig at all.


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 16, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Wow, I thought we had managed to try almost all of the local cupcake places.  I was in Minneapolis for 7 1/2 months about 4 years ago when my daughter had her bone marrow transplant.  She had always been a salty snacker, but her taste buds changed after transplant.  She craved sweets.  There was so little I could do for her during that time period.  She gained tons of weight, so she didn't want clothes.  She was living in a hospital room, so there was not really room for "things".   Going out to buy her cupcakes became the big "treat".  She called it "the summer of the cupcake".  I don't recall Cocoa &amp; Fig at all.


I think EVERY summer should be called "The Summer of the Cupcake," in celebration of your sweet daughter &amp; because a whole summer of cupcakes sounds delicious!!!  ;-)


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 16, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Where is this and how have I never heard of it?!?!


In the skyway downtown in Gaviidae Commons, but I guess they just opened one in Edina too.  Their food is so cute!  BUT, what you really have try if you haven't already is Angel Food next to Hell's Kitchen!!!  There is wayyyy too many great bakeries downtown, it's very dangerous!


----------



## wadedl (Jul 16, 2014)

I don't know what to send local! Right now San Diego is all about the craft beer but that can't be shipped usps. A bottle of speedway stout would also take up too much room in the box.


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 16, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> In the skyway downtown in Gaviidae Commons, but I guess they just opened one in Edina too.  Their food is so cute!  BUT, what you really have try if you haven't already is Angel Food next to Hell's Kitchen!!!  There is wayyyy too many great bakeries downtown, it's very dangerous!


You are making me want to plan a trip to the Twin Cities just so I can eat my way through my old favorites and maybe some new ones!!!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 16, 2014)

Send me all the cheese and macarons. And cupcakes!

I found some local flair to add to my box! I think I'll write up a card this weekend and seal that sucker shut!


----------



## Kelli (Jul 16, 2014)

My town is known for muck fields, which means onions, potatoes and carrots. I'm guess sending fresh onions via USPS in the hot summer would be frowned upon LOL. The nearest big city to me was named Beer City USA last year I believe, but again, that's a no-go haha.


----------



## cg0112358 (Jul 16, 2014)

Obsessions

Make-Up : 

Bath &amp; Body: I really want to try some LUSH products or Fortune Cookie soap products. I would LOVE to try out a soap sub.

House stuff: It's time to redecorate the bathrooms so I'll be diving in to BBB soon.

Food: hmm, I love all the food... Recently I had cinnamon flavored pecans that were delicious but I generally prefer savory over sweet

Colors: Peach and Bronze

Treat: There is a cookies and cream ice cream cone that they sell at my school that is fantastic! I have not found it at any local stores but would buy boxes if I did.

Splurge: I love new clothes! I love shopping at Express and Limited and would definitely shop at more higher end stores if I could afford to... I used to buy my pants at Goodwill (and will still buy shirts there) but I have discovered that there is something to be said for a good quality pair of pants like my ones from Express. They just help me look so much more put together.


----------



## cg0112358 (Jul 16, 2014)

I have one more item to pick up and have one order on the way and then my package is done.

So, how are y'all handling wrapping?
I am horrible (read: toddler with tape and scissors horrible) at wrapping... I'm not sure how I should go about handling this part of the package.


----------



## meaganola (Jul 16, 2014)

cg0112358 said:


> I have one more item to pick up and have one order on the way and then my package is done.
> 
> So, how are y'all handling wrapping?
> 
> I am horrible (read: toddler with tape and scissors horrible) at wrapping... I'm not sure how I should go about handling this part of the package.


I received an order from Haus of Gloi with a very cool approach to wrapping and padding: It was all combined. Everything was wrapped in a sheet of tissue paper, and the excess of each piece of tissue wrap turned into padding for the package. No bubble wrap or packing peanuts (or even tape, because everything was just twisted up like a piece of candy) necessary!
ETA: As far as local stuff goes, I love tacky, kitschy souvenirs. Postcards! Floaty pens! Gaudy magnets and keychains! Impulse purchases at the gas station!


----------



## BSquared (Jul 16, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> In the skyway downtown in Gaviidae Commons, but I guess they just opened one in Edina too.  Their food is so cute!  BUT, what you really have try if you haven't already is Angel Food next to Hell's Kitchen!!!  There is wayyyy too many great bakeries downtown, it's very dangerous!


Nice!! I dont get downtown nearly enough. My favorite is salty tart in Midtown Global Market but I need to expand my bakery horizons!

And to keep it on topic, I had to stop at the WalMart and pick up cat litter over lunch....and somehow managed to snag 3 more things in the makeup aisle for my buddy (and 2 for myself) even though I said I was done. WHOOPS. That make up was just looking so sad in the walmart, I had no choice but to give it a new home with my swap buddy!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 16, 2014)

button6004 said:


> Are you the MKE area? Oh man. The cheese. I went there for work a few years ago and ate approximately double my weight in cheese.


Yup! I'm in milwaukee!!!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 16, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Three words: Postcard. Bronze. Fonz.
> 
> (I totally forgot to see if I can find Portlandia postcards. The *real* Portlandia: the second-largest copper statue in the US, behind the Statue of Liberty.)


OMG bronze fonz always startles me when I'm walking in that area!


----------



## Momma4 (Jul 16, 2014)

In Mississippi the only things that we are really known for are mud pies, catfish, hushpuppies and sweet tea.  HMMM, don't know if any of that would be good enough for local flair.


----------



## Christa W (Jul 16, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Yup! I'm in milwaukee!!!


If you are my buddy I will take some Usingers summer sausage, garlic dill cheese curds and a Solly's burger!!!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 16, 2014)

wadedl said:


> I don't know what to send local! Right now San Diego is all about the craft beer but that can't be shipped usps. A bottle of speedway stout would also take up too much room in the box.


If you could just send me some carne asada fries I'd be over the moon!  :lol:


----------



## Bizgirlva (Jul 16, 2014)

My area is known for tobacco, wild ponies &amp; the American Revolution...not really gift appropriate.

Food wise - Ham and peanuts. heh can you imagine trying to ship a ham hock?


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 16, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> My area is known for tobacco, wild ponies &amp; the American Revolution...not really gift appropriate.
> 
> Food wise - Ham and peanuts. heh can you imagine trying to ship a ham hock?


Hey wait!!!  Where are you?  Smithfield?  I'm in Carrollton!!!  You've GOT to be talking about Smithfield/Suffolk area.


----------



## Jac13 (Jul 16, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> My area is known for tobacco, wild ponies &amp; the American Revolution...not really gift appropriate.
> 
> Food wise - Ham and peanuts. heh can you imagine trying to ship a ham hock?


I would love a nice juicy ham, lol. Just send it from the store! Gobble gobble gobble yum yum


----------



## Jac13 (Jul 16, 2014)

Momma4 said:


> In Mississippi the only things that we are really known for are mud pies, catfish, hushpuppies and sweet tea.  HMMM, don't know if any of that would be good enough for local flair.


I am having fried catfish tomorrow. I picked up some yesterday but I haven't been at home to really enjoy. But... Tomorrow I am off.


----------



## Christa W (Jul 16, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> I am having fried catfish tomorrow. I picked up some yesterday but I haven't been at home to really enjoy. But... Tomorrow I am off.


Mmmmmmmmmm


----------



## Bizgirlva (Jul 16, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Hey wait!!! Where are you? Smithfield? I'm in Carrollton!!! You've GOT to be talking about Smithfield/Suffolk area.


Norfolk, actually but the only people who know Norfolk are in the navy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 16, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Norfolk, actually but the only people who know Norfolk are in the navy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Hubby's AF stationed at Langley!!!  Nice to know there's a fellow MuTer in the neighborhood.  Too cool.  Hoorah for Smithfield Hams!!! ha ha ha.


----------



## cobainrls (Jul 16, 2014)

I know about Norfolk because I lived in Richmond awhile. My cousin was also stationed there after I lived in Richmond for awhile.


----------



## BSquared (Jul 16, 2014)

I want a ham.


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 16, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> You are making me want to plan a trip to the Twin Cities just so I can eat my way through my old favorites and maybe some new ones!!!


If you do, I am so joining you! 
This thread is making me super hungry.


----------



## Kelli (Jul 16, 2014)

@@BSquared Love your new avatar!


----------



## BSquared (Jul 16, 2014)

Kelli said:


> @@BSquared Love your new avatar!


Thank you, lovely! I was tired of being a faceless b lol


----------



## dancersmum (Jul 16, 2014)

@@marigoldsue - making me hungry - those all sound delicious!!!

Dang it - after reading this thread I want to EAT NOW!

@@BSquared - sooooo pretty...gorgeous eyes!

I can't wait for the reveals now so I can drool over all the food pictures lol  and gawk at all the pretties!


----------



## lastnite629 (Jul 17, 2014)

Ugh. I was planning to go pick up something local tomorrow, but now I have to wait around all day for a dang plumber to show up.  boo.

I, also, need to decide if I want to knit an item for my buddy or not.  I'm always so iffy on gifting knitted items.


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 17, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> I, also, need to decide if I want to knit an item for my buddy or not.  I'm always so iffy on gifting knitted items.


Do it! If I were your buddy I would love something knitted   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## marigoldsue (Jul 17, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> Ugh. I was planning to go pick up something local tomorrow, but now I have to wait around all day for a dang plumber to show up.  boo.
> 
> I, also, need to decide if I want to knit an item for my buddy or not.  I'm always so iffy on gifting knitted items.


I would love someone to gift me with anything they had knitted.  Do it!


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 17, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> Ugh. I was planning to go pick up something local tomorrow, but now I have to wait around all day for a dang plumber to show up.  boo.
> 
> I, also, need to decide if I want to knit an item for my buddy or not.  I'm always so iffy on gifting knitted items.


If you've got the time to do it, go for it!  Who wouldn't love it?


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 17, 2014)

I want ham! Me me me.


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 17, 2014)

I vote for knitted too! Anyone will love it because you spent time making it for them! It will make your gift so special! Do it!


----------



## sstich79 (Jul 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> ETA: As far as local stuff goes, I love tacky, kitschy souvenirs. Postcards! Floaty pens! Gaudy magnets and keychains! Impulse purchases at the gas station!


Co-sign! I love floaty water magnets... kitschy magnets in general, really. And I especially love to collect those little souvenir pins, because I put them on my traveling monkey's fishing hat!



Spoiler


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 17, 2014)

Oh man, I don't think I've ever played a grander game of Tetris in my life.  There was NO possible way those gifts were going to fit into that box, but lo &amp; behold, THEY DID . . . . BARELY.  Hopefully they make it to my swap buddy safe &amp; sound (&amp; in one piece).  I HAD to wrap &amp; pack up because I keep buying things!!!  I need to STOP already or I'll be shipping a box the size of a fridge!  So now everything is wrapped, tetris-ed into a large flat rate box, taped up, &amp; ready to go to my fabulous swap buddy on the 27th.  Now, is there a way we can fast forward time 10 days?  I'm ready to see REVEALS!!!


----------



## Kelli (Jul 17, 2014)

I was wondering: In the description it says reveals start July 27 but also says shipping starts the 27th...so if reveals start the 27th, does that mean we can actually ship a few days earlier, so the gifts can be received on the 27?!?!

I ended up buying three non makeup items and they completely ruined the amazing box tetris I had played. I think I may have to change boxes...though I'm going to give it another go this week to see if I can somehow make it work.


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 17, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Co-sign! I love floaty water magnets... kitschy magnets in general, really. And I especially love to collect those little souvenir pins, because I put them on my traveling monkey's fishing hat!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think I am in love with your traveling monkey   :wub:


----------



## Babs28 (Jul 17, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I was wondering: In the description it says reveals start July 27 but also says shipping starts the 27th...so if reveals start the 27th, does that mean we can actually ship a few days earlier, so the gifts can be received on the 27?!?!
> 
> I ended up buying three non makeup items and they completely ruined the amazing box tetris I had played. I think I may have to change boxes...though I'm going to give it another go this week to see if I can somehow make it work.


Shipping starts on the 27th.  Reveals start whenever the package is received after shipping on that date.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jul 17, 2014)

@@sstich79 - Your traveling monkey is so awesome!  I love him.  Will you send him to me so that he can travel to NJ and visit?  He'd have a wonderful time!!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

@marigoldsue  OMG!!!  Your look AMAZING in your new profile pic!!  Beautiful!!  Is there a reason for the new pic? I *think* you got your hair cur or colored!!  Am I right?


----------



## Christa W (Jul 17, 2014)

Eeeeek!! That's only 10 days!! I better get a move on my homemade items and figuring out how to wrap all this stuff. Can't wait for the reveals I feel like I got to know so many of you so well. As excited as I am to find out who had me and to get my buddy her stuff, I kinda don't want this to end!!!


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## Babs28 (Jul 17, 2014)

Christa W said:


> Eeeeek!! That's only 10 days!! I better get a move on my homemade items and figuring out how to wrap all this stuff. Can't wait for the reveals I feel like I got to know so many of you so well. As excited as I am to find out who had me and to get my buddy her stuff, I kinda don't want this to end!!!


@@Christa W I feel the same way. I feel like there is going to be this big let down when it's all over, after looking forward to sending and receiving my gifts for so long! And constantly being on the lookout for something for my buddy!  I sort of don't want this to end!! haha!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 17, 2014)

Lols you all are so much more prepared than I am. I'm STILL deciding what to spend the rest of my $25 on haha! I am pretty sure I have it narrowed down, and I'm just waiting for a paycheck to make a run to a few stores, and get my local snack(s). Also wrapping stuff...gosh I feel so behind. I'm the worst (best?) kind of procrastinator. So far I've just been collecting all my buddy's items in a packing box just to keep it all together, but I haven't even begun the crazy Tetris-ing that's going to have to happen.


----------



## meaganola (Jul 17, 2014)

I keep thinking that I want to get this box all packed up and sealed so it's ready to go right away -- and then I remember that I'm still waiting on something!


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 17, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @marigoldsue  OMG!!!  Your look AMAZING in your new profile pic!!  Beautiful!!  Is there a reason for the new pic? I *think* you got your hair cur or colored!!  Am I right?



:blush:  Aww thank you.  Same cut and color as usual.  But I was rocking a red lip for a change.  I never do red lips, I think that are too harsh for my coloring usually.  This is the Hourglass Opaque Rogue Liquid Lipstick in Icon.  That and a good hair day prompted me to try a selfie.


----------



## rachelshine (Jul 17, 2014)

YAY BB order arrived all in one piece. Now just 1 last non-beauty item to purchase and then box tetris commences. Oh, my handwriting is also TERRIBLE soooo enjoy trying to decipher that swap bud &lt;3


----------



## SaraP (Jul 17, 2014)

:w00t:  AHHHHHH I just found the one thing I couldn't get my hands on :w00t:  !!!!! Well I don't have my hands on it yet.... but I think it's possible. I guess I'm going to try to get it and then I'll have to wait for it to ship to send out my package!!


----------



## Christa W (Jul 17, 2014)

Found the perfect sized box laying right in front of me on my floor. Work had to UPS me a new wireless track ball and of course they ship it in a super sized box compared to the item. Fits my "bag" filled with goodies like it was meant for it!!! No flat rate or fridge box for me!! Lets hope it all fits after its wrapped.

I am seriously bursting with excitement over this!!! Buddy.... If you are out there thank you for being a pleasure to shop for. My experience had been so fantastic!!! Thanks again ladies for organizing this. I'm going up tear up just thinking of my buddy opening this up now!!!!

(maybe I better not hype it too much in case she hates it LOL)


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 17, 2014)

Yay for knitty things!  And homemade goodies of all kinds and skill levels  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I've managed to squeeze in one last pretty for my gal, and I am officially officially done except for writing the card.  Hopefully my flat rate box isn't considered "bulging."  However, there is a good possibility that the gifts will come spewing forth once the box is opened.  If you hear of a girl getting injured by a volcano of makeup in the reveal thread, that was my buddy, and I'm sorry.


----------



## cobainrls (Jul 17, 2014)

So I have the box, and bought all my pretties for my buddy. I have a few more things out that I have traded for and I have also raided my stash. I was going to make something for my buddy but when I went to Michaels, they had nothing. i was going to either make a keychain or a magnet for my buddy, They had crap for stickers. I am so bummed. BUT, since I am not doing that I am going to try and find something local. I am going to get creative and google some stuff for here. I have no clue. Whoever lives in MS don't forget the moonpies. I am from Pascagoula and I would really have a fun time buying local from MS. Now, I live in Oklahoma and have for almost 9 years. I am very much a home body and I don't know really about local stuff here.


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 17, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> I am very much a home body and I don't know really about local stuff here.


I think the idea someone else had (I forgot who it was!) to check out your local grocery store was a good idea. I know there are tons of local snacks around where I live and if you just go look in some of the snack aisles I know many stores feature certain local items. I figure I'm just going to check out my local Whole Foods and see what they have that I never knew was only local.


----------



## chelsealady (Jul 17, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I think the idea someone else had (I forgot who it was!) to check out your local grocery store was a good idea. I know there are tons of local snacks around where I live and if you just go look in some of the snack aisles I know many stores feature certain local items. I figure I'm just going to check out my local Whole Foods and see what they have that I never knew was only local.


I completely forget about going to Whole Foods to look for local things.


----------



## SaraP (Jul 17, 2014)

This cracked me up and I had to share...for a second I thought someone had been in my house  :blush:


----------



## meaganola (Jul 17, 2014)

Update on the slumber party thread:  It's created and will be pinned in this Secret Santa subforum!  Since it's something to fill the time between the exchanges, this seemed like the best place for it.  But!  I'm keeping it locked until Midsummer and Summerswap are over so the discussion in these threads don't get confused and meander over there when people mean to post in the currently-running exchange threads.  Once the summer exchange dust settles, then both groups can combine over there and wait anxiously for Secret Santa!


----------



## SaraP (Jul 17, 2014)

@@meaganola Way to keep the HAPPY rolling!


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 17, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Update on the slumber party thread:  It's created and will be pinned in this Secret Santa subforum!  Since it's something to fill the time between the exchanges, this seemed like the best place for it.  But!  I'm keeping it locked until Midsummer and Summerswap are over so the discussion in these threads don't get confused and meander over there when people mean to post in the currently-running exchange threads.  Once the summer exchange dust settles, then both groups can combine over there and wait anxiously for Secret Santa!


What a great idea!  Love it!!!


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 17, 2014)

sarap said:


> This cracked me up and I had to share...for a second I thought someone had been in my house :blush:


OMG so funny!! I think my bf and I have an unspoken understanding in that I give him all the hairsprays and pick up his body wash/shampoo and he doesn't make a peep about all the products I have everywhere. So far so good  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## cobainrls (Jul 17, 2014)

What is this slumber party you speak of? I have not read anything about this.


----------



## SaraP (Jul 17, 2014)

We have dual sinks and that's the only reason he hasn't left me!


----------



## cobainrls (Jul 17, 2014)

Guys the closer this gets the more excited I get. This is going to be a belated bday present to me! My husband doesn't celebrate and my family isn't big celebrators so this is like celebrating for me!


----------



## dancersmum (Jul 17, 2014)

Today is July 18...9 more days till reveals begin ladies!!!  SOOOOO excited...  This reminds me of when I was a kid waiting for xmas morning lol - I just want to see the reveals from everyone and wrap myself in happy lol


----------



## jesemiaud (Jul 18, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> Lols you all are so much more prepared than I am. I'm STILL deciding what to spend the rest of my $25 on haha! I am pretty sure I have it narrowed down, and I'm just waiting for a paycheck to make a run to a few stores, and get my local snack(s). Also wrapping stuff...gosh I feel so behind. I'm the worst (best?) kind of procrastinator. So far I've just been collecting all my buddy's items in a packing box just to keep it all together, but I haven't even begun the crazy Tetris-ing that's going to have to happen.


Lol...that's me too. I'm still waiting on one thing I ordered and then I want to try to find some local snacks. I hope it gets here soon. I leave for a 2-week business trip on Sunday so my poor buddy has to wait until I get for me to wrap and ship.


----------



## Christa W (Jul 18, 2014)

I finished my "homemade" element.  It's nothing fancy but very personal and I think it's perfect.  I wish I had the skills of some of you ladies.  Now it's time for wrapping/cushioning my gifts.


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## Babs28 (Jul 18, 2014)

Ladies,

You should have received your Swap Buddy's information via PM by now.  If you haven't, please let me know.  

I'd like to say THANK YOU to @@tgooberbutt for helping me send out everyone's information!

Babs


----------



## sstich79 (Jul 18, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @@sstich79 - Your traveling monkey is so awesome!  I love him.  Will you send him to me so that he can travel to NJ and visit?  He'd have a wonderful time!!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Aw, thanks! He and I have a grand old time together, and my friends and family get a kick out of him... I kept joking that I was going to make him his own Facebook page, but then when I decided to start my blog a few months ago, I gave him a starring role there instead. He has definitely traveled without me before... would you believe that little stinker has been to Paris, but I haven't? LOL. But I have to report that after a past mishap in which he was actually almost lost in the mail, I'm way too paranoid about trying to ship him anywhere again!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Maybe we'll come visit you one day... we could add NJ to our long-dreamed-of road trip around New England and other parts Northeast! :drive:


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 18, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> What is this slumber party you speak of? I have not read anything about this.


Our silly idea from Midsummer--a thread where we can hang, have mask parties, talk about life, etc., and get ready for the big exchanges--between the big summer and winter exchanges!  We kept the SS thread going until Midsummer, but this way we will have a hang-out all the time.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 18, 2014)

Oops...I just got shipping notification for an order I remember placing, but it contained items for my buddy and I didn't remember it having items for her.  Does this mean I have over-shopped?


----------



## Jac13 (Jul 18, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> Guys the closer this gets the more excited I get. This is going to be a belated bday present to me! My husband doesn't celebrate and my family isn't big celebrators so this is like celebrating for me!


My birthday is on the 16th. I am hoping I get my box on my birthday or close to it. The older I get the less of a celebration it is.


----------



## Jac13 (Jul 18, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Oops...I just got shipping notification for an order I remember placing, but it contained items for my buddy and I didn't remember it having items for her.  Does this mean I have over-shopped?


No such thing, lol.


----------



## Jac13 (Jul 18, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Norfolk, actually but the only people who know Norfolk are in the navy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I did part of my training there then we moved up to Cheetam Annex for the rest of the duration. I love the mall there. If I had to move it would be to Williamsburg, so pretty. If my swap buddy is from the Jamestown area, W&amp;M University, please send me some local treats. I would be over the moon.


----------



## Babs28 (Jul 18, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Aw, thanks! He and I have a grand old time together, and my friends and family get a kick out of him... I kept joking that I was going to make him his own Facebook page, but then when I decided to start my blog a few months ago, I gave him a starring role there instead. He has definitely traveled without me before... would you believe that little stinker has been to Paris, but I haven't? LOL. But I have to report that after a past mishap in which he was actually almost lost in the mail, I'm way too paranoid about trying to ship him anywhere again!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Maybe we'll come visit you one day... we could add NJ to our long-dreamed-of road trip around New England and other parts Northeast! :drive:


Well that's a bummer!!  He'd have a grand time.  The beach is awesome and so is the boardwalk.  He may even see a few brothers and sisters on the boardwalk!  LOL But I totally understand!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I'd be afraid of something (someone) getting lost in the mail too!  

A road trip :drive:   around New England would be awesome!!  Count me in - even though I wasn't invited!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Maine, Mass, Conn, Rhode Island, Upstate NY ALL have beautiful places to visit - even NJ.  Summer or Fall are the best times to go.  I prefer summer but Fall is amazingly beautiful if you time your visit right for when the leaves are changing color!!   And the food is AMAZING too if you know where to go!!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 18, 2014)

Yay, I did some final orders today, and I have now spent my makeup money allotment. Now I just need to make the rest of my homemade gift part, get my local snacks, wrap, and pack! I feel back on track now!


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## tgooberbutt (Jul 19, 2014)

Oye, I gotta get over a hump on the 26th, then I can concentrate on the homemade, custom stuff, wrapping and packaging. The purchasable stuff is all ready and waiting!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> For some reason, I take so much pleasure in the wrapping and DIY stuff  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## lastnite629 (Jul 19, 2014)

I have an item arriving tomorrow for my buddy. At least according to tracking it should be here tomorrow. It better be!! *shakes fist* 

While moving some things around in a closet, I found a whole set of boxes from USPS. The kind you can order &amp; have delivered. So I have options on a box! yay!


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## Kelli (Jul 19, 2014)

I just got a small indie order that had one item for my swap buddy and two small items for @@trekkersangel for her (totally late) birthday gift! Hehe, I figured since you like to tease a bit on here Dani, I'd tease you a bit, too  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

This was the last order I was waiting on!


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## trekkersangel (Jul 19, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I just got a small indie order that had one item for my swap buddy and two small items for @@trekkersangel for her (totally late) birthday gift! Hehe, I figured since you like to tease a bit on here Dani, I'd tease you a bit, too  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> This was the last order I was waiting on!


KELLI!!!  You tease!!!  You're such a sweetheart!  You don't have to get me anything for my birthday. You see ladies?  The women on this board are just amazingly wonderful aren't they?  That's why I adore you all.


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## chelsealady (Jul 20, 2014)

I finished wrapping last night. Still need to write a note, and find a box big enough to put it in.


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## jesemiaud (Jul 20, 2014)

I'm sitting in the airport now waiting for my flight. I'll be scarce for the next couple of weeks. We'll be working massive amounts of overtime.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I'll most likely check in, but probably won't post much. I'm still waiting for one more thing for my buddy, but I got a shipping notice so I know it's ok the way. I'll get my gift wrapped and shipped as soon as I get back.


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## BSquared (Jul 20, 2014)

Got something local for my buddy this morning, need one more thing and a box! I'm so excited to ship!


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## meaganola (Jul 20, 2014)

Still waiting on one final order!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I actually have two orders in with this company, and the first one (for myself) was placed almost a week before the second one (for this exchange), so I have a feeling I'm going to be one of the last shippers this time around.


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## Christa W (Jul 20, 2014)

I thought of this thread last night while I was in Walmart and how we discussed sanitizing make up and swatching lip sticks on your hands.... there was this mother/daughter pair of dirtbags putting on Revlon lips sticks on their lips.  I was so appalled and shocked I couldn't say anything!!!  How low do you have to be to do that? It was around 9 pm and the mom was all "I don't like JCPenny's but I do like Sephora because you get to try on the stuff... and the daughter said "you mean like this" and just straight puts it on her face.  She was so trashy and dirty looking.  I try not to judge people but I couldn't help myself.  We have a lot of meth addicts in my area and she must have been on something to be that uncouth.  I can't imaging having that kind of disrespect.  I am not a bleeding heart by any means but I would never in a million years do that.  Also.. never, ever buying any cosmetics from Walmart that aren't 100% sealed.


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## Jac13 (Jul 20, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Still waiting on one final order!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I actually have two orders in with this company, and the first one (for myself) was placed almost a week before the second one (for this exchange), so I have a feeling I'm going to be one of the last shippers this time around.


I may join you. I keep switching out items. I am a little unsure so I am still on the prowl until I am satisfied.


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## Christa W (Jul 20, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> I may join you. I keep switching out items. I am a little unsure so I am still on the prowl until I am satisfied.


I had to stop myself from going to Sally Beauty today....  I love "on the prowl" that's so true!!! hahahaha


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## SaraP (Jul 20, 2014)

I just keep shopping! It's really too much fun to stop...Anyone finding themselves thinking if it's just a few $ then it doesn't count???  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Momma4 (Jul 20, 2014)

Speaking of unsanitary makeup, I was at target the other day with my 4 and saw the grossest thing.  Another mother that had three young ones, much like myself, was not paying attention to her kids that were prob around the 5,3,2 age.  She was looking at nail polish and the boys were behind her picking up lipsticks, opening them, and sticking them in their nose.  When the mom saw what they were doing she just laughed, took the lipsticks from them and put them back.  I gave her this incredulous look and she preceded to tell me that boys will be boys.  Hey, my boys are 4,2,1, so I get it, but for God's sake don't put them back up for somebody else to buy.


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## jocedun (Jul 20, 2014)

I finally taped up my box in an attempt to stop myself from adding/removing/adding/removing stuff constantly. I keep feeling unsure about what I've picked, thinking maybe I should add more, or maybe she won't like such and such.

It's only been taped up for 24 hours and I've already contemplated re-opening it to re-think things twice haha. What is wrong with me?! :wacko2:


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## SaraP (Jul 20, 2014)

@@jocedun Have you taken a look at the other ss? The reveal thread should put you at ease!! Also it's a ton of fun seeing and the wonderful gifts and the genuinely grateful thanks  :smilehappyyes:  It's all  :sunshine: and rainbows over there!


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## rachelshine (Jul 20, 2014)

Box packing FAIL. Will have to stop at the PO to get a larger box  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jul 20, 2014)

Anyone else think the med flat rate box (long rectangular one) fits more then the large square FR box??? I haven't tried stuffing one yet, but it seems much larger!?!?


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## meaganola (Jul 20, 2014)

sarap said:


> Anyone else think the med flat rate box (long rectangular one) fits more then the large square FR box??? I haven't tried stuffing one yet, but it seems much larger!?!?


Nope, the large flat rate is much larger.  I just calculated the volumes of each flat rate box:

Small -- 75 cubic inches

Medium long flat retangluar -- 546 cubic inches

Medium tall chunky -- 514 cubic inches

Large -- 792 cubic inches

Large board game box -- 870 cubic inches

That last one really surprises me.  I thought it seemed *much* smaller than the large box!


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## BSquared (Jul 20, 2014)

I think my husband is jealous of the swap lol. He was looking through my bag of stuff and was like "man how come there can't be a guy version of this with like cologne and video games?" I told him he was more than welcome to join makeup talk but he just kind of gave me the side eye  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## ashleylind (Jul 20, 2014)

I have 2 trades that will hopefully be coming in this week, and then I need to buy a few local things. And maybe do a craft. And then I'm done....hopefully. Maybe?


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## meaganola (Jul 20, 2014)

bsquared said:


> I think my husband is jealous of the swap lol. He was looking through my bag of stuff and was like "man how come there can't be a guy version of this with like cologne and video games?" I told him he was more than welcome to join makeup talk but he just kind of gave me the side eye  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


The actual correct answer:  "There would be if guys bothered to get off their asses and put it together themselves."  He thinks this sort of thing just magically *happens*?


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 20, 2014)

The only thing I have left to buy is my local snack. All of my orders are on their way, just waiting for their arrival. And I've got my box, and wrapping stuff. I've decided not to start wrapping and packing until everything's here. I just know if I start wrapping stuff now, I'll forget what was in it!


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## tweakabell (Jul 20, 2014)

Dude I'd join a nerdy, video game gift swap :lol: I'm sure Hubby would too. The issue I'd have is it would get expensive FAST! I did a mini nerd run yesterday and spent $90 like THAT!


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## SaraP (Jul 20, 2014)

I must have an old large FR box, because mine is not that large...The large came from the back of my craft closet, so I think I need to make a trip to the post.


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## meaganola (Jul 20, 2014)

sarap said:


> I must have an old large FR box, because mine is not that large...The large came from the back of my craft closet, so I think I need to make a trip to the post.


Yeah, I think they changed box dimensions last year or so.  I'm not sure they still accept the old boxes at the flat rate any more.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 20, 2014)

sarap said:


> I just keep shopping! It's really too much fun to stop...Anyone finding themselves thinking if it's just a few $ then it doesn't count???  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I swear, sometimes it is almost like we share a brain...This is so ME!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 20, 2014)

I can't believe it's almost time to ship! Where has this summer gone? Of course, it's just been so hot that I won't exactly be sad when autumn rolls around!


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## tgooberbutt (Jul 20, 2014)

I'm starting to think that several, strategically allocated 13oz first class mail packages and small flat rates for the heavy stuff might be a better deal than one medium flat rate.... About $3 per 13oz bubble mailer for the light-but bulky stuff...and $5 for small dense stuff in the small flatrate?


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## SaraP (Jul 20, 2014)

Maybe but I want all the glory to arrive together  :lol:


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 20, 2014)

tgooberbutt said:


> I'm starting to think that several, strategically allocated 13oz first class mail packages and small flat rates for the heavy stuff might be a better deal than one medium flat rate.... About $3 per 13oz bubble mailer for the light-but bulky stuff...and $5 for small dense stuff in the small flatrate?


that would drive me nuts if i wanted everything to come in together (as the sender) but as a receiver this sounds SO FUN!


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## lastnite629 (Jul 20, 2014)

My yarn is sitting in the corner of the room calling my name.   I've been debating on if my buddy would rather have a ruffle scarf or a headband/ear warmer. Just ruined the possible surprise didn't I? Oops!


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## SaraP (Jul 20, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> that would drive me nuts if i wanted everything to come in together (as the sender) but as a receiver this sounds SO FUN!


It would be like days and days of gifts!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 20, 2014)

sarap said:


> It would be like days and days of gifts!!


Exactly!! I'm thinking of my mail carrier though and how he already thinks I get "too much fun mail"  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jul 21, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> My *yarn* is sitting in the corner of the room calling my name.   I've been debating on if my buddy would rather have a ruffle scarf or a headband/ear warmer. Just ruined the possible surprise didn't I? Oops!


Time to go to bed.  I misread YARN as YAM.  And it didn't really seem *that* strange to me.


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## button6004 (Jul 21, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> My yarn is sitting in the corner of the room calling my name.   I've been debating on if my buddy would rather have a ruffle scarf or a headband/ear warmer. Just ruined the possible surprise didn't I? Oops!


If I was your buddy, a ruffle scarf would be awesome!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I FINALLY found (after going to TWO stores) the last item I was looking for. The weird thing is its something I use all of the time, and I was so confused when I went to the store I usually get it from and they didnt have any! Apparently its a really popular item now!

I also couldnt resist a little travel-sized goodie in the store that is so perfect for summer. The smell is phenomenal. I cant get enough!


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 21, 2014)

I am a little scarf obsessed at the moment, so a ruffle scarf would be fantastic!  Something to look forward to for the future--things do not have to be seasonally appropriate--especially if made with love.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Dashery (Jul 21, 2014)

Oh man, DonnaD just reminded me that I have to get some sort of headband/ear warmer thing. The school I'm starting at this fall is basically a tundra. I'm going to become a Dashsicle.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 21, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> My yarn is sitting in the corner of the room calling my name.   I've been debating on if my buddy would rather have a ruffle scarf or a headband/ear warmer. Just ruined the possible surprise didn't I? Oops!


I would love anything made of yarn...or yams :lol:


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## Jac13 (Jul 21, 2014)

I love scarfs. You can dress them up or down. I'll take a pretty ruffle scarf, lol.


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## rachelshine (Jul 21, 2014)

tgooberbutt said:


> I'm starting to think that several, strategically allocated 13oz first class mail packages and small flat rates for the heavy stuff might be a better deal than one medium flat rate.... About $3 per 13oz bubble mailer for the light-but bulky stuff...and $5 for small dense stuff in the small flatrate?


I was just thinking of doing this because I just weighed by box &amp; it was 5 pounds which apparently costs me like $17 to ship?! LOL whoops.


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## Jac13 (Jul 21, 2014)

@@rachelshine sounds like you have a box of wonderful. I can't wait to see all the pretties.


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## Kelli (Jul 21, 2014)

I shipped a box today that weighed 1 lb .5 oz and it was $6.99. (it was one of those tiny influenster boxes that they send you with just one item in it). I think my SummerSwap box is quite a bit heavier, so I'm starting to wonder if I should just go with the med. flat rate.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 21, 2014)

Check the rate for Parcel Post or whatever it's called now too, it's usually a little cheaper.  I'm pretty sure that's what I used to send my FGC's package.  Still only took 2 days.


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## CurlyTails (Jul 21, 2014)

I would love a ruffle scarf!


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## Kelli (Jul 21, 2014)

I still can't quote people, but it seems like everyone else can, must be my stupid computer.

@@Lolo22 I will look into that.

I was just checking the price calculator on usps.com and it seems that 2 lbs is the magic number for me with shipping from my house to my person's. 2lbs or less, is $9.64 and 2lbs 1 oz is $12.78, A Med flat rate is $12.35, so probably the better option for me (unless the parcel post ends up being less).

I just measured my box and it's quite a bit smaller than a med flat rate and if it's going to cost the same to mail, I probably might as well use that...and since the little box is filled to max capacity, the bigger box means I could fill it more!! There is a fairly heavy local food item I recently found that I wouldn't ship if I was paying by weight, but a flat rate box, I could totally get it...


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## SaraP (Jul 21, 2014)

Just need to put the finishing touches on the homemade part and get er boxed! I have to get this thing closed so I can stop shopping  :lol:


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## marigoldsue (Jul 21, 2014)

Ughhh....I may have to shop my box and get it down to a manageable size.  I put the contents on the scale last night and I was already at 11 pounds!!!  I had a couple of heavy items left too.  And I wanted to put them inside of a special box that won't fit in a flat rate box.  My shipping was going to be over $30.  So I either have to change my packaging or make my box quite a bit lighter.  Or say "what the heck..." and ship as is.


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## SaraP (Jul 21, 2014)

11 lbs! That's HUGE!!  :w00t:


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 21, 2014)

I've just decided to go with the large flat rate box and try and get my money's worth and jam pack it with all the heaviest things! Bonus if I can find a local snack that's small and heavy to stuff in there. My homemade item is fairly heavy, so flat rate just seemed to be the way to go.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 21, 2014)

sarap said:


> 11 lbs! That's HUGE!!  :w00t:


In my defense, some are full size and heavier items.  Like a full size bubble bath would weigh a lot more than a full size eyeliner.  But still....

And @@SaraP with all of the boxes you have ordered lately, I was counting on your extras making my box seem small by comparison!


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## dancersmum (Jul 21, 2014)

you all are making my box sound tiny...but my shipping is expensive so I tried really really hard to keep it light!  Not to many days before reveals can begin...I'm off on the start of my travels tonight...

I am hoping we will have decent internet access as I wanna see the pretties!


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## dancersmum (Jul 21, 2014)

tgooberbutt said:


> I'm starting to think that several, strategically allocated 13oz first class mail packages and small flat rates for the heavy stuff might be a better deal than one medium flat rate.... About $3 per 13oz bubble mailer for the light-but bulky stuff...and $5 for small dense stuff in the small flatrate?


....for xmas swap I just might do that...lots of little packages would be FUN!


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## meaganola (Jul 21, 2014)

So...  Slumber party thread.  I asked over in Midsummer, so I'll ask over here.  I'm trying to pin down a date to open that thread, but the idea is that everyone from the two swaps (plus anyone not participating in any of the swaps who just wants to hang out!) would combine over there in one big group.  When does everyone want to move the festivities over there?  I have a vote over there for August 1st, but that's smack in the middle of the shipping window over here, so it seems like it should be later due to that, but on the other hand, we're almost done with reveals over there, and people are going to get antsy soon!


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## BSquared (Jul 21, 2014)

Mine seems heavy too. It's mostly 2 things that are full sized and weigh kind of a lot....packing is going to be a struggle.....


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## dancersmum (Jul 21, 2014)

@@marigoldsue - wowsa - that sounds heavy lol...can't wait to see what you got for your person!


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## dancersmum (Jul 21, 2014)

meaganola said:


> So...  Slumber party thread.  I asked over in Midsummer, so I'll ask over here.  I'm trying to pin down a date to open that thread, but the idea is that everyone from the two swaps (plus anyone not participating in any of the swaps who just wants to hang out!) would combine over there in one big group.  When does everyone want to move the festivities over there?  I have a vote over there for August 1st, but that's smack in the middle of the shipping window over here, so it seems like it should be later due to that, but on the other hand, we're almost done with reveals over there, and people are going to get antsy soon!


anytime is fine - I'm sure we can hang out in both our reveal thread as well as that thread!   Is it bad that I'm already waiting for the next swap?!?  shopping for someone was so much fun!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 21, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> anytime is fine - I'm sure we can hang out in both our reveal thread as well as that thread!   Is it bad that I'm already waiting for the next swap?!?  shopping for someone was so much fun!


Yeah most of my other threads I follow are winding down as it's nearing the end of the month, and I wouldn't mind another place to chat! I think August 1st is a good time, some gifts will be starting to arrive, and Midsummer will be about over.


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## Christa W (Jul 21, 2014)

sarap said:


> 11 lbs! That's HUGE!!  :w00t:


RIGHT!!! I only weighed 7lbs when I was born!!


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## SaraP (Jul 21, 2014)

meaganola said:


> So...  Slumber party thread.  I asked over in Midsummer, so I'll ask over here.  I'm trying to pin down a date to open that thread, but the idea is that everyone from the two swaps (plus anyone not participating in any of the swaps who just wants to hang out!) would combine over there in one big group.  When does everyone want to move the festivities over there?  I have a vote over there for August 1st, but that's smack in the middle of the shipping window over here, so it seems like it should be later due to that, but on the other hand, we're almost done with reveals over there, and people are going to get antsy soon!


Send them our way! I loved watching your reveals, best end of the day thread!


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## SaraP (Jul 21, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> you all are making my box sound tiny...but my shipping is expensive so I tried really really hard to keep it light!  Not to many days before reveals can begin...I'm off on the start of my travels tonight...
> 
> I am hoping we will have decent internet access as I wanna see the pretties!


Small but mighty! Can't wait to see all the fun...If only my gal needed black eyeliners and mascara my box would weigh a ton!


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## Dashery (Jul 21, 2014)

*sigh of relief* Wohoo! My gift is finally starting to come together. I've been fretting and worrying that it's not good enough. But I have a theme and it's all starting to fit together now that I have most of my products (just waiting on one more order that should be here tomorrow or Wednesday, and picking up two things from Ulta.) Yay! I am excited to pack it all up!


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## Babs28 (Jul 21, 2014)

August 1st is fine.  I don't think anyone has a problem reading and participating in two threads!  If they do, they can participate in the Slumber Party thread once our reveal thread is over!


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## Babs28 (Jul 21, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Ughhh....I may have to shop my box and get it down to a manageable size.  I put the contents on the scale last night and I was already at 11 pounds!!!  I had a couple of heavy items left too.  And I wanted to put them inside of a special box that won't fit in a flat rate box.  My shipping was going to be over $30.  So I either have to change my packaging or make my box quite a bit lighter.  Or say "what the heck..." and ship as is.


You could always do a Part 1 and Part 2.  I may have to do that with my Buddy!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 21, 2014)

wrapping wrapping wrapping  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

hand cramps from notes

wrapping wrapping warpping  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

doing homework/running to the library to grab data

packing

wrapping more gifts

packing

getting distracted by gifts  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

dear summerswap buddy: you have been SOOO easy to shop for and such a wonderful distraction from thesis work (check!), doing other projects for these last 3 weeks of grad school, and packing


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## chelsealady (Jul 21, 2014)

I'm definitely going to be using a flat rate. I've got one pretty heavy thing. Trying to sort out my note in my head. Because I really want it to be perfect.


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## Dashery (Jul 21, 2014)

Reading all these "dear-buddy" posts makes me want to come back and reread the whole thread once I know who my buddy is! I want to know if any of you were ever talking to me!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jul 21, 2014)

I've had a terrible day, so trying to figure out all of the shipping prices and whether to go flat rate, shipping Dani's way late B-day gift and getting my wrapping on has helped a bit lol. I'm so excited for shipping to start. I put in the date I plan to ship (the 28th) and it said she'd probably get it around Aug 4th, which seems like an eternity from now LOL.


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## lastnite629 (Jul 21, 2014)

@Kelli  August 4th did sound like an eternity from now until I got to thinking that my nieces &amp; nephews here in WV start back to school on August 5th &amp; 6th.  THAT is super crazy &amp; super soon!


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## Babs28 (Jul 22, 2014)

Kelli said:


> I've had a terrible day, so trying to figure out all of the shipping prices and whether to go flat rate, shipping Dani's way late B-day gift and getting my wrapping on has helped a bit lol. I'm so excited for shipping to start. I put in the date I plan to ship (the 28th) and it said she'd probably get it around Aug 4th, which seems like an eternity from now LOL.


I WISH August 4th was an eternity away, it's my 40th birthday!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  :angry:   :scared:   :angry:   :angry:    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  :scared:   :blink2:


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## bonita22 (Jul 22, 2014)

I'm going to start wrapping everything tomorrow. I'm debating the extras and if I should include something local. I'm having a hard time thinking of something good to send from Arizona.

I'm really worried my gift is not good enough.


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## Babs28 (Jul 22, 2014)

@@bonita22  I LOVE your new pic!  You look beautiful!!


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## bonita22 (Jul 22, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> @@bonita22 I LOVE your new pic! You look beautiful!!


Thank you so much  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 22, 2014)

Hmmm Swummerswappers who do you think is getting this ultra sweet treat from me ? 

I'm having too much fun wrapping


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 22, 2014)

Ugh. I can't find a couple items I picked up for my buddy and it's driving me insane. Like I'm stuck between ripping apart my apartment/unpacking my boxes (maybe it's hiding with the kitchen stuff? Clothes? Crafts?) what I've packed to find them OR going out and buying another OR just letting it go and accepting that the gift is ok without them  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> someone tell me what to do


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## valeried44 (Jul 22, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> I'm going to start wrapping everything tomorrow. I'm debating the extras and if I should include something local. I'm having a hard time thinking of something good to send from Arizona.
> 
> I'm really worried my gift is not good enough.


I'm sure your gift will be perfect!  (In all honesty, I'm having the doubts right along with you. I'm still working on one last order that I have been putting things in/pulling things out of my cart and playing around with different things in my head and then they just came out with something I think she'd like, but I don't know...)

Geez, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves for something that should be (and is!) fun.  It will all be worth it when we start seeing all the reveals!


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 22, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Ugh. I can't find a couple items I picked up for my buddy and it's driving me insane. Like I'm stuck between ripping apart my apartment/unpacking my boxes (maybe it's hiding with the kitchen stuff? Clothes? Crafts?) what I've packed to find them OR going out and buying another OR just letting it go and accepting that the gift is ok without them  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> someone tell me what to do


Don't go unpacking all of your stuff, you've put a lot of work into that!  I'm sure that the gift will still be amazing without those couple of things.  If you happen to find them, great!  If not, then you get a little surprise when you are unpacking at your new place!  Either way it's a gift to someone!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Bizgirlva (Jul 22, 2014)

I'm still buying, just the local stuff.  I hope I'm not the only one who's behind. I have a box I think and most stuff in the box, but nothing is wrapped.  I'm so behind ya'll.


----------



## meaganola (Jul 22, 2014)

I need to wrap, but I'm waiting for one last order. I may or may not pick up some specific local goodies (they started as a local company, although they're now owned by a multinational behemoth, and you can buy some of their stuff in stores nationally. There are a couple of company retail stores here, though, that sell stuff you can't get anywhere but those stores!). It depends on parking. It can approach hellish proportions in that neighborhood in the summer.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 22, 2014)

@ Don't unpack any boxes! Your gift is great as is!


----------



## BSquared (Jul 22, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> I'm still buying, just the local stuff. I hope I'm not the only one who's behind. I have a box I think and most stuff in the box, but nothing is wrapped. I'm so behind ya'll.


Nah, I have nothing wrapped and I'm toying with ONE more order which means id have to ship Monday butttttt.....we'll be good  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
Edit: ok last order done. I am done. SERIOUSLY this time, like done. No more.

Edit 2: what crap samples, sephora, ISH!


----------



## bonita22 (Jul 22, 2014)

I just remembered I ordered a small extra for my buddy last week. The seller didn't provide tracking, so I hope it gets here soon.


----------



## bonita22 (Jul 22, 2014)

I love these exchanges! I'm so glad the reveals start next week. Can't wait to see what everyone gets  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jul 22, 2014)

Still not able to quote but, Happy early Birthday @@Babs28!!

@ I love your wrapping! I'm sure the gift is great as is, without the few items you can't find!


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 22, 2014)

5 days ladies!!!!!!! Eeeeek!!! I'm SO excited to ship! I can't wait to see all the reveals!!!!


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 22, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> 5 days ladies!!!!!!! Eeeeek!!! I'm SO excited to ship! I can't wait to see all the reveals!!!!


Is it really only five days? I am SO looking forward to these reveals. Things are going to be hectic for the next few weeks, and some good reveals will be therapeutic!


----------



## bonita22 (Jul 22, 2014)

I finally finished wrapping everything. Now I just need to get some local extras and wait on one last thing to arrive. I'll finish writing the card tomorrow and it will be ready to go out on Monday.

To my swap buddy: I hope you love everything, it's has been a blast shopping for you. Also please forgive my terrible wrapping skills, there's no excuse for it.


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 22, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> Also please forgive my terrible wrapping skills, there's no excuse for it.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No, it looks great! Tidier than mine!


----------



## Babs28 (Jul 23, 2014)

Kelli said:


> Still not able to quote but, Happy early Birthday @@Babs28!!
> 
> @ I love your wrapping! I'm sure the gift is great as is, without the few items you can't find!


Awe, thanks, Kelli!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Dashery (Jul 23, 2014)

@@bonita22 I am seriously digging that star tissue paper. I can't even explain why.  ^_^ /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Christa W (Jul 23, 2014)

Now I feel bad. My "wrapping" was going to consist of bubble wrap and baggies for the breakable stuff. I hadn't planned on actually wrapping stuff up. Now I better go find some cute paper my Swapbuddy will love (my phone auto fills the word Swapbuddy!! I love it)


----------



## klg534 (Jul 23, 2014)

How would everyone feel about nothing being wrapped? My box is full...without any cute wrapping paper and well I really want to send everything....but it wont be cute! Ugh... maybe I will steal the multiple package idea! More Mail is More fun right?!


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 23, 2014)

I wouldn't stress out about wrapping (or not wrapping) things.  If the items aren't wrapped -- it's like a pinata!

I keep trying to get caught back up but this thread moves so fast after being away for more than a couple of days, it's impossible.  I'm excited for next week!  The last item I bought should be here by the weekend, so I'll have time to get the package all ready to go.  I might not ship until later in the week, but I'm glad I won't have to wait until the very end of the shipping window.

For my own swap buddy -- I'm away from home a lot next week, but should be home for good Thursday night, so if it takes a couple of days to post a reveal, that's why.


----------



## Dashery (Jul 23, 2014)

Oh my applesauce, a makeup pinata sounds fantastic!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 23, 2014)

dont worry about wrapping! i just really, really like to wrap stuff. did you know that filipino cultural norms basically indicate that the way a gift is wrapped has a lot of meaning/significance and is sometimes more important than the gift itself? (ok that probably doesn't make you feel better...but it is a fun fact  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Its also probably the reason why my mom would wrap a box SO BEAUTIFULLY and it would have like...a $5 sbux gift card in it) 

also, i've been into penpalling and sharing mail stuff on instagram...thats basically a huge pissing contest about who can decorate and wrap letters the best. its kinda annoying. i got a really, really nice looking envelope and a really really nicely decorated card and her message to me was on an index card. merp. and here i am actually writing letters :/

anyway, i love wrapping. feel free to send all your stuff here and i'll do it for you   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jul 23, 2014)

When I was growing up, my mom would have my brother and me wrap all of the presents. *All* of the presents. Yes, that means that we would WRAP OUR OWN PRESENTS. Everything was in a nondescript department store shirt box that Mom kept year after year to reuse for this sole purpose (huh. Now that I think about it, this might be where I get my must-keep-boxes-for-future-use Thing. We always had stacks of them in storage waiting for the next holiday). But we never, *ever* peeked because that was not done in our house. If you were caught peeking/shaking/etc., you lost whatever that thing was. Today, I love the concept of beautifully wrapped stuff, but realistically, I can go either way.


----------



## rachelshine (Jul 23, 2014)

I *HAD *a beautiful wrap job &amp; then realized it was just not going to work in the original box as planned, so sorry buddy that it looks like a jumbled mess :X


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 23, 2014)

Don't worry about wrapping separately.  Both methods are fun in different ways.  

Wrapped separately you get the opportunity to unwrap everything and prolong the experience. 

Not wrapped you open up the box and **BAM**  everything in it's glory is right there for your eyes to behold.  (I picture a chorus of Hallelujah playing and a glowing light emitting from the box-o-goodies) 

See.  Equally appealling!


----------



## wadedl (Jul 23, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> dont worry about wrapping! i just really, really like to wrap stuff. did you know that filipino cultural norms basically indicate that the way a gift is wrapped has a lot of meaning/significance and is sometimes more important than the gift itself? (ok that probably doesn't make you feel better...but it is a fun fact  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Its also probably the reason why my mom would wrap a box SO BEAUTIFULLY and it would have like...a $5 sbux gift card in it)
> 
> also, i've been into penpalling and sharing mail stuff on instagram...thats basically a huge pissing contest about who can decorate and wrap letters the best. its kinda annoying. i got a really, really nice looking envelope and a really really nicely decorated card and her message to me was on an index card. merp. and here i am actually writing letters :/
> 
> anyway, i love wrapping. feel free to send all your stuff here and i'll do it for you   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


In Mexico people go to places to get their gifts wrapped. There are stores that you buy cards and little decorations, stuffed animals... but the big thing is they wrap gifts.

I don't mind either way.


----------



## Dashery (Jul 23, 2014)

Finally wrapping the first part of my swap! (Had to block out by buddy's name. lol) This may take me awhile...

Oh well, back to wrapping!  :lol:


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 23, 2014)

Okay, so this doesn't have anything to do with Summer Swap, but I'm posting it anyway because this is a friendly thread with all sort of random ramblings &amp; I love everyone here &amp; want to show off how awesome some of our MuT members are!!!!  Plus it involves a reveal of sorts so that should hold us over until the real shipping for summer swap starts next week right?  

I'm pen pals with the every so wonderful @@Kelli &amp; we've been exchanging letters all year.  Well, being the fabulous wonderful person that she is, she sent me a birthday present (she's been teasing me on this thread for a few days now!) &amp; I want to show it off.    So here is my birthday gift reveal to hold us over until next week's summer swap reveals!!  Thank you Kelli for such a fun surprise in the mail.  I hope it's okay I post it here.  I just thought it would be a fun little pre-reveal before all the summer swap reveals happen next week.



Spoiler



This is how my adorable birthday box was decorated.  See I told you she was fun &amp; creative &amp; amazing.  Whomever is her swap buddy is in for a treat.





On top was a birthday card with these cute little nail decals inside:  DOCTOR WHO!!!  LOVE THEM!




Next came 3 beautiful Eyeliners from Wet n Wild &amp; NYC in olive, purple, &amp; teal.  SO FUN.




Then there were 3 polishes.  A pretty pastel cream color from Sephora X, a pink polish from Revlon that actually SMELLS LIKE PINEAPPLES, &amp; a really cool leather polish.




After that I opened several fun things: a really cool multi colored lipgloss stack from Sephora, some great LOreal primer, two bright &amp; gorgeous NYC lipsticks, a really fun cream stick blush, some Almay lip gloss, &amp; a purple balm stain.  FUN STUFF.




And the coolest part of the gift. . . the one she's been openly teasing me about on this thread, was two indie nail polishes from a brand called Super Nails.  The first is called PATRIOTIC MICKEY (which is awesome with us being active duty military &amp; me being a HUGE Mickey Mouse obsessed crazy person) &amp; the other is MINNIE MOUSE.  Both of them have little Mickey/Minnie ear glitter inside of them &amp; they sparkle.  I'm in love with them.  I'm new to the "Indie" world so I'm loving learning about these little companies that have so many neat things.




Thank you @@Kelli for such a fun surprise in the mail.  I feel like it was my birthday all over again.  You are so wonderful &amp; I'm so glad we are friends.


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 23, 2014)

@@trekkersangel -- I'm not sure whether I'd want pineapple smelling nails or Minnie nails first.  I suppose, as the little girl says in the commercial, that "por que no los dos" would probably be in order.

Enjoy!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 23, 2014)

@@trekkersangel How awesome! I love the Doctor Who nail decals!


----------



## rachelshine (Jul 23, 2014)

@@trekkersangel amazing!!! Love it all. Way to go @Kelli!!!


----------



## dancersmum (Jul 23, 2014)

Yay I have internet access...sorry to my swapbuddy - I'm traveling till mid-August - so my reveal will be one of the last ones I imagine...

I will be around though!  Not too many more days till we start now...I wonder how many more sleeps till the reveals begin!


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 23, 2014)

dancersmum said:


> Yay I have internet access...sorry to my swapbuddy - I'm traveling till mid-August - so my reveal will be one of the last ones I imagine...
> 
> I will be around though!  Not too many more days till we start now...I wonder how many more sleeps till the reveals begin!


This cracked me up.  In our house with all our littles we say "how many more 'wake ups' til the fun begins."


----------



## SaraP (Jul 23, 2014)

Ugh! None of these flat rate boxes work!!! I even grabbed the game box  :scared: I had everything grouped in smaller boxes and no amount of box tetris is working!!!!

*I guess I'll have to individually wrap the items, which sucks because my grand idea will be foiled...and I suck at wrapping!

*although I maybe able to use the med long FR if I remove the boxes.


----------



## Jac13 (Jul 23, 2014)

Dashery said:


> Box.jpg
> 
> Finally wrapping the first part of my swap! (Had to block out by buddy's name. lol) This may take me awhile...
> 
> Oh well, back to wrapping!  :lol:


The pink is pretty. Can't wait to see what's inside


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## chelsealady (Jul 23, 2014)

I wrapped. But it's more put it in the middle and squish the tissue paper around it. I've got one last thing that I'm waiting on. It should be here Monday. So I'll ship Tuesday. Unless I come up with a alternative between now and then.


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## CurlyTails (Jul 23, 2014)

For some reason I love the sneak peeks of people's wrapping!


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## LolaJay (Jul 23, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> I'm going to start wrapping everything tomorrow. I'm debating the extras and if I should include something local. I'm having a hard time thinking of something good to send from Arizona.
> 
> I'm really worried my gift is not good enough.


Your gifts are beautiful and perfect!! I would know since I got your gift during SS!! :hugs3:


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## BSquared (Jul 23, 2014)

I am a ok with no wrapping!!

I'm doing a few "themed" boxes with sample society boxes (unwrapped) then just wrapping the stuff that is too big to fit in them or is a one off that doesn't fit with any other products. Sorry buddy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## LolaJay (Jul 23, 2014)

GAH I can't even believe it's almost here! I had so many grandiose ideas for a homemade item for my buddy - and I've bought multiple things for my ideas, but none of them have happened yet! I feel bad that I haven't been on here very much - summer has been so BUSY!

I think tomorrow, since I have no work or cheer or tutoring, that I will finally make my homemade gift! I am sooooo excited to send my buddy her gifts! I hope she loves them!

I hope you guys are having a wonderful summer! It was only 71 here today which is PERFECT for me, I am definitely one of those who is not a fan of the heat.

CAN NOT WAIT to see everyone's creativity and generosity!


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## Jac13 (Jul 23, 2014)

I have an idea for wrapping paper but I don't know how well it will transpire. I'm only creative with cooking. Not so much in the arts and crafts.


----------



## DonnaD (Jul 23, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Okay, so this doesn't have anything to do with Summer Swap, but I'm posting it anyway because this is a friendly thread with all sort of random ramblings &amp; I love everyone here &amp; want to show off how awesome some of our MuT members are!!!!  Plus it involves a reveal of sorts so that should hold us over until the real shipping for summer swap starts next week right?
> 
> I'm pen pals with the every so wonderful @@Kelli &amp; we've been exchanging letters all year.  Well, being the fabulous wonderful person that she is, she sent me a birthday present (she's been teasing me on this thread for a few days now!) &amp; I want to show it off.    So here is my birthday gift reveal to hold us over until next week's summer swap reveals!!  Thank you Kelli for such a fun surprise in the mail.  I hope it's okay I post it here.  I just thought it would be a fun little pre-reveal before all the summer swap reveals happen next week.
> 
> ...


Awwww!  That's so sweet!


----------



## Dashery (Jul 23, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> I have an idea for wrapping paper but I don't know how well it will transpire. I'm only creative with cooking. Not so much in the arts and crafts.


My general method for arts and crafts is to just grab supplies and dive right in. Eventually, I end up knee deep in glue, ribbon, and thread until it's too late to retreat.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 23, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> I have an idea for wrapping paper but I don't know how well it will transpire. I'm only creative with cooking. Not so much in the arts and crafts.





Dashery said:


> My general method for arts and crafts is to just grab supplies and dive right in. Eventually, I end up knee deep in glue, ribbon, and thread until it's too late to retreat.


Yeah cooking is a great skill to have! Being able to combine ingredients in new and interesting ways intuitively is totally a skill that can translate to handmade items   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## msambrosia (Jul 23, 2014)

Other than a local item, I'm finished shopping. Picked up a flat rate box from the post office and everything fit inside. Now, I just need to start wrapping.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## button6004 (Jul 24, 2014)

I need to do my wrapping this weekend.  I'm hoping it goes well!

I'm just so excited! Today is my birthday and I'm looking forward to when I get my "present" from the swap!


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## lastnite629 (Jul 24, 2014)

@button6004  Happy Birthday!


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## valeried44 (Jul 24, 2014)

button6004 said:


> I need to do my wrapping this weekend.  I'm hoping it goes well!
> 
> I'm just so excited! Today is my birthday and I'm looking forward to when I get my "present" from the swap!


Happy birthday!!!  I hope you have a wonderful day!


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

Happy Birthday!


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## bonita22 (Jul 24, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> Your gifts are beautiful and perfect!! I would know since I got your gift during SS!! :hugs3:


Aw thank you that means a lot coming from you  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jul 24, 2014)

button6004 said:


> I need to do my wrapping this weekend.  I'm hoping it goes well!
> 
> I'm just so excited! Today is my birthday and I'm looking forward to when I get my "present" from the swap!


Happy birthday, Button! Hope you have an awesome day!!


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## tgooberbutt (Jul 24, 2014)

button6004 said:


> I need to do my wrapping this weekend.  I'm hoping it goes well!
> 
> I'm just so excited! Today is my birthday and I'm looking forward to when I get my "present" from the swap!


Happy Birthday!!!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 24, 2014)

Happy Birthday Button!

And I have a serious problem.  I just placed another order.  It probably won't even get here in time.  My buddy may be getting an encore box.

Next swap, I better get @Dashery.  I would be afraid to over-shop for the Sheriff!!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jul 24, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Happy Birthday Button!
> 
> And I have a serious problem. I just placed another order. It probably won't even get here in time. My buddy may be getting an encore box.
> 
> Next swap, I better get @Dashery. I would be afraid to over-shop for the Sheriff!!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I've received encore boxes in exchanges on other forums. They're really exciting! The *really* fun one was the mysterious Lush package that randomly showed up on my UPS app one day. I didn't even know who sent it! And because I had the heads up on the app that there *would* be Lush soon, I got a few days of anticipation. The *knowing* was even better than it would have been if it had just appeared on my doorstep unannounced!


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

Oh I like this idea! I skipped a product because I wouldn't get it until the 5th or 6th...


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## marigoldsue (Jul 24, 2014)

@meaganola...stop encouraging me...lol



sarap said:


> Oh I like this idea! I skipped a product because I wouldn't get it until the 5th or 6th...


See what I mean about sharing a brain.  You and I may just keep sending our buddy packages all year long.  Maybe I need to "adopt" a daughter just so I can have someone fun to shop for.  My son just has no interest in anything girly.    :wacko:   *sigh*


----------



## button6004 (Jul 24, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> @meaganola...stop encouraging me...lol
> 
> See what I mean about sharing a brain.  You and I may just keep sending our buddy packages all year long.  Maybe I need to "adopt" a daughter just so I can have someone fun to shop for.  My son just has no interest in anything girly.    :wacko:   *sigh*


That would be the greatest thing in the world for the person you "adopted"!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I hope I have a daughter someday so I can spread the girly love to her!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 24, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> @meaganola...stop encouraging me...lol
> 
> See what I mean about sharing a brain. You and I may just keep sending our buddy packages all year long. Maybe I need to "adopt" a daughter just so I can have someone fun to shop for. My son just has no interest in anything girly. :wacko: *sigh*


Pick meeeeee. I wanna send my buddy stuff for the rest of forever.


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## button6004 (Jul 24, 2014)

I would love forever gifts. :wub:


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## rachelshine (Jul 24, 2014)

@@button6004 Happiest of birthdays  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

@@Dashery would be fun to shop for. I'd make it a sheriff theme!! There would be sheriff badges, sewing supplies, shopping tips galore. Or perhaps she already IS my swap buddy!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## BSquared (Jul 24, 2014)

Ok ladies....help me.

So I wanted to use flat rate but...my box has nail polish and it's noted as a "restricted item" on the usps website. Can I still use a flate rate box but just tell them it has to go ground?? Or can I return a flate rate box if not lol?


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## Dashery (Jul 24, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @@button6004 Happiest of birthdays  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> @@Dashery would be fun to shop for. I'd make it a sheriff theme!! There would be sheriff badges, sewing supplies, shopping tips galore. Or perhaps she already IS my swap buddy!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Oh man! You would be the best swapbuddy! Or would we call that *cool lens flare* _swapdeputies_?

Also, now I can't wait to find out who my buddy is! And I can't wait for Secret Santa. Thinking of all the people I might get to shop for is making me giddy!


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 24, 2014)

@@button6004 -- Happy Birthday!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 24, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Ok ladies....help me.
> 
> So I wanted to use flat rate but...my box has nail polish and it's noted as a "restricted item" on the usps website. Can I still use a flate rate box but just tell them it has to go ground?? Or can I return a flate rate box if not lol?


just use it and when they ask just say no. i've never had problems. they dont actually factually check.


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 24, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Ok ladies....help me.
> 
> So I wanted to use flat rate but...my box has nail polish and it's noted as a "restricted item" on the usps website. Can I still use a flate rate box but just tell them it has to go ground?? Or can I return a flate rate box if not lol?


When I asked about ground shipping for my Secret Santa for nails package (which had several pounds of polish and remover), the postmaster asked why.  When I said "because it's nail polish and I thought that had to go ground," he shrugged and slapped a priority label on it.

I get shipments from Black Sheep Lacquer and Llarowe via USPS all the time.

ETA: And my midsummer swap box came USPS and had a glossybox full of polish!


----------



## Dashery (Jul 24, 2014)

Oh! And I forgot! Happy, happy Birthday, @button6004!  :mussical:


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## BSquared (Jul 24, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> just use it and when they ask just say no. i've never had problems. they dont actually factually check.


Ok good that's kind of what I wanted to do but I didn't want to get arrested or anything  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

Post office police...hilarious!  :w00t:


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 24, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Ok good that's kind of what I wanted to do but I didn't want to get arrested or anything  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Meh, I mailed my Fairy Godchild sparklers, perfume, nail polish and marshmallows.  All naughty mail items (marshmallows only because of July).  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## button6004 (Jul 24, 2014)

I never tell them if there is liquid in it.  I usually only will mention if something is fragile, because my post office will stick the bright FRAGILE label on the items.

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! I've had such a wonderful day but no presents since my husband got me an early gift back on Memorial Day weekend of a new Kate Spade purse from the outlets (the sale was too good to pass up!), so I'm SO antsy for the reveals to begin!


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 24, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Ok good that's kind of what I wanted to do but I didn't want to get arrested or anything  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Every time I take a trade to the post office and they ask me if there's anything liquid, perishable, or hazardous - I always start to sweat a little because I'm like "what counts as hazardous? Is foundation considered a liquid? What on earth did I put in the envelope again?" LOL

I'm afraid of the postal police as well! :bringiton:


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 24, 2014)

I spent ALL DAY scouring craft stores and Antique/Resale shops to find the items I need to make my homemade items....I'm so excited with my finds and I can't wait to craft it up tonight and tomorrow!!

To my buddy - I stalked you and hope you love what I'm making! Muahahahaha!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 24, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> Every time I take a trade to the post office and they ask me if there's anything liquid, perishable, or hazardous - I always start to sweat a little because I'm like "what counts as hazardous? Is foundation considered a liquid? What on earth did I put in the envelope again?" LOL
> 
> I'm afraid of the postal police as well! :bringiton:


And this is why I never take my stuff to the post office.  I just package it up at work and put it in the run.  That way I don't have to tell any lies   :bandit:


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## Dashery (Jul 24, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> I spent ALL DAY scouring craft stores and Antique/Resale shops to find the items I need to make my homemade items....I'm so excited with my finds and I can't wait to craft it up tonight and tomorrow!!


Oooh, that sound intense. I can't wait to see what you make!


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## bonita22 (Jul 24, 2014)

button6004 said:


> I never tell them if there is liquid in it. I usually only will mention if something is fragile, because my post office will stick the bright FRAGILE label on the items.
> 
> Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! I've had such a wonderful day but no presents since my husband got me an early gift back on Memorial Day weekend of a new Kate Spade purse from the outlets (the sale was too good to pass up!), so I'm SO antsy for the reveals to begin!


Happy Birthday!!


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

Just received tracking for a item I forgot about  :wacko:


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## BSquared (Jul 24, 2014)

Oooooooo ditch and run is a good idea!! Maybe I will buy tracking online (you caan do that right?) and make our receptionist give it to the mailman at work. Y'all are so sneaky and smart!

PS HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY BUTTONS!


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## Kelli (Jul 24, 2014)

@@button6004 Happy Birthday!


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## Dashery (Jul 24, 2014)

sarap said:


> Just received tracking for a item I forgot about  :wacko:


Oh, SaraP. :lol:   Whoever's your buddy is one lucky duck!


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

I hope she feels that way! Just minor box anxiety over here   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## meaganola (Jul 24, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Oooooooo ditch and run is a good idea!! Maybe I will buy tracking online (you caan do that right?) and make our receptionist give it to the mailman at work. Y'all are so sneaky and smart!
> 
> PS HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY BUTTONS!


Not only is tracking automatically included when you buy postage online via PayPal (don't know about directly via USPS), but it's usually cheaper than in-person postage purchase, too.


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## chelsealady (Jul 24, 2014)

sarap said:


> I hope she feels that way! Just minor box anxiety over here  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


It will be awesome. Don't worry.


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## CurlyTails (Jul 24, 2014)

@@button6004 Happy Birthday! Love all of the summer birthdays!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 24, 2014)

And I am super exited to see all of these crafts!


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

How does everyone feel about homemade candy type items?


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## CurlyTails (Jul 24, 2014)

sarap said:


> How does everyone feel about homemade candy type items?


Yes, please!


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## DonnaD (Jul 24, 2014)

sarap said:


> How does everyone feel about homemade candy type items?


I love homemade yummies!  I bake a lot but I love it when people do it for me.  Baking, candy making all takes a lot of care and it makes me feel super special when people take the time to do that for me.  Except rum balls.  I hate rum balls lol.


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## DonnaD (Jul 24, 2014)

*@[member=[URL="http:////user/104097-button6004/"]button6004[/URL]]*, Happy birthday!  I hope your day was extra special.


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## valeried44 (Jul 24, 2014)

Homemade candies are the best!


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## Kelli (Jul 24, 2014)

@@SaraP YUM! I am down with homemade candies.


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I love homemade yummies!  I bake a lot but I love it when people do it for me.  Baking, candy making all takes a lot of care and it makes me feel super special when people take the time to do that for me.  Except rum balls.  I hate rum balls lol.


I made rum balls once for Christmas, thought they'd be wonderful and made a ton. Gag! No one would eat them, lol.


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## BSquared (Jul 24, 2014)

I am a fan of candy in all forms  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## trekkersangel (Jul 24, 2014)

Oh yes to homemade candies! I'm really excited to see all these packages! Crafts, homemade candies, scarves, make up!!!! What's not to love!


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## Dashery (Jul 24, 2014)

Candy? Yum!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 24, 2014)

So @@SaraP you're sending these homemade candies to all of us right?   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## DonnaD (Jul 24, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> So @@SaraP you're sending these homemade candies to all of us right?   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Nope, only to me.


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## BSquared (Jul 24, 2014)

Oh and to my buddy: you are getting nothing home made and I apologize. I wish I could but it's just not my thing. You are a sweetheart and I am positive you would tell me you loved it even if it was butt ugly and looked like a 2 year old made it...but we'd both know you were lying lol. So I hope you are a-ok with all store bought stuff! I did find something local for you though!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 24, 2014)

Found out an item I ordered last minute won't even go out until Monday, so my box will be sent out after that arrives. I hope you don't mind waiting a little, buddy!


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

I'll pm the recipe to anyone who wants it  :laughing:


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## Babs28 (Jul 24, 2014)

sarap said:


> How does everyone feel about homemade candy type items?


Send it ALL to me... along with some fondant!!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

Sweet Swap?!? I knew you gals were sweet, didn't know we had so many sweet tooth's :lol:


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## LolaJay (Jul 24, 2014)

Ooooh candy! Can I just say that I will take all of the edibles...I love all the foods!

@@button6004 HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope it was beautiful!

@@BSquared I don't have a local item for my buddy - so it evens out! I can't really think of anything cool to send from Southeast Michigan. We pretty much just have smog and Faygo...not that cool lol. By the way HEY GIRL how you been?

I am SOOOO happy with my craft project #1! I would post a picture but I'm pretty sure it would give away who my buddy is! So I can't! But I can say that going to the antique stores really paid off. I pulled all of my gifts out of the box they have been in and I have to say that it doesn't seem like very much. Granted I bought a few expensive items that are smaller. So I think I may need to pick up a few more things...so I totally know how some of you are feeling right about now :blush2:

Did we already ask the favorite candy question? I missed some pages so if we did - I apologize! If not though - what's your favorite candy?


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## Dashery (Jul 24, 2014)

Circle Swap of Sweets!

As for my favorite candy: Anything chocolate and peanut butter. But if I had to pick one specific candy, cherry cordials are my absolute favorite!


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## meaganola (Jul 24, 2014)

Strangely, I'm not a big candy person.  I still have holiday Junior Mints from last Christmas.  Or, really, sweet stuff in general:  I still have multiple unopened boxes Girl Scout cookies from the 2013 selling season.  There are some specific commercial candies I love (right now, I'm all over Jelly Belly brand -- and *only* Jelly Belly brand -- raspberries &amp; blackberries, with the tiny candy dots allover a berry-flavored gummy inside, and Reese's peanut butter cups -- and *only* Reese's -- are always fantastic), but I'm big on starchy salty crunchy carbs, like popcorn and chips.  I desperately want the Chicago-style popcorn that @@elizabethrose sent to @@Deareux!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 24, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> I don't have a local item for my buddy - so it evens out! I can't really think of anything cool to send from Southeast Michigan. We pretty much just have smog and Faygo...not that cool lol. By the way HEY GIRL how you been?
> 
> Did we already ask the favorite candy question? I missed some pages so if we did - I apologize! If not though - what's your favorite candy?


I wouldn't mind trying Faygo, I've always heard of it and have wanted to try it! Favorite candy: Ummm anything chewy. For instance chewy Jolly Ranchers are good, I love the Cherry Twlzzlers that are the ones you can pull apart into tiny strands. I'm not big on super sweet things, usually certain chocolates are too sweet for me. I love toffee and brittles. And cookies are good, my favorite being peanut butter with a Hershey kiss on top. They are my childhood nostalgia cookies.


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## BSquared (Jul 24, 2014)

@@LolaJay I am doing ok!! Rough couple week at works but I'm alive so I can't complain!! How are you??

Favorite candy: all of them. Except grape stuff. Nasty grape.

Edit: if anyone is ever in Minnesota, you MUST go to jim's apple farm, which bills itself as the worlds largest candy store. It's literally a barn the length of a football field FULL OF CANDY. Screw Disney world, the candy barn is the best place on earth, hands down. Whoever I get for secret Santa is definitely getting some candy (too hot now and they just opened for the season last week).


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## Deareux (Jul 24, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I desperately want the Chicago-style popcorn that @@elizabethrose sent to @@Deareux!


If I had gotten Elizabeth's package before I sent out your's, I definitely would have sent you some too.

But that didn't happen.

SO THE POPCORN IS ALL MINE!!!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 24, 2014)

I wish I could send my person a freshly made apple doughnut. We have a local area, called Apple Hill, that grows apples, and there are tons of farms that sell all kinds of apple related foods and snacks, and one of the best is a place that freshly fries you apple doughnuts that are amazing! I go every fall mainly for a big box of golden delicious apples and some doughnuts!


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## Kelli (Jul 24, 2014)

I love fruity candy like Gummi bears/worms/peach rings whatever gooey, fruity goodness I can find. I love Skittles and any red licorice or other fruity licorice (not a fan of black licorice flavored stuff).

When it comes to chocolate it's one of those things that I have to be in the mood for (though the mood does strike often  lol). Typically, I love chocolate mixed with something else like PB , caramel, mint, coconut, etc.

Also, Lindt truffles, Ghiradeli squares and ferro roche are things that I always love to kind of splurge on! They always feel so indulgent and decadent and I pace myself with those lol. &lt;3

So, pretty much I am contradicting myself and I totally love chocolate  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## chelsealady (Jul 24, 2014)

I love all snacks. But right now I'm more a salty snack type person. Cracked Pepper and olive oil triscuits are the freaking best. I can't eat them out of the box. Because I will eat way to many.

My other guilty pleasure is Golden Flake hot chips. Can't even have them in the house.


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## SaraP (Jul 24, 2014)

I fall in to the sweet, salty, sweet, salty, rabbit hole! I love Jr Mints, even ones from last year   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> but my all time favorite is Ferrero Rocher with the Hazelnut inside. Yumm-o!


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## chelsealady (Jul 24, 2014)

The best snack that I had one time and can't find again was a cinnamon sugar filled gummy bear. I was on a girl scout trip with niece 2 and we stopped at a cracker barrel. They were honey flavored and each little bear had a pocket of red sugar in the middle like a heart. I have never been able to find them again.


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## marigoldsue (Jul 24, 2014)

sarap said:


> Sweet Swap?!? I knew you gals were sweet, didn't know we had so many sweet tooth's :lol:


Sweet Swap?!?!?!?!  I would so be in.  I am a fabulous baker!

Fave candies would be dark chocolate mixed with sea salt caramel.  Or dark chocolate and raspberry.  Or watermelon jolly ranchers.  Oh raspberry tootsie roll pops.  Or tootsie rolls.  Or mint M&amp;M's. Or twirlers.  Or twilight skittles.  Or...  (ps don't let my doctor red this thread, we had to discuss my blood sugar levels today...candy should not really be in my future unless it is in moderation).

ETA:  @@SaraP I would so eat your homemade candy.  What my doctor doesn't know....


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 24, 2014)

I"m not much on hard or gummy type candies.  However, I like sour candies or lemon flavored anything.  

My sweet tooth leans towards baked good and chocolate candy.  Chocolate covered nuts, like dark chocolate almond! Yum! Also LOVE sweet/salty combo like the chocolate covered Lays of last winter! omg!

I'm down for a sweets/foodie circle swap. It'd be SO cool if it was all local unique stuff but that might make everyone crazy shopping for it and could run really expensive unless there was a price/value limit set.

A Christmas/holiday cookie swap would be fun during the holidays.  I'd love to try baking so many types but have no reason to.


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## Deareux (Jul 24, 2014)

I'd totally be in for a sweets swap! I don't bake, but I have access to TONS of Asian candy. Gummies from Japan, entertaining candy kits, so much Pocky, mushroom cookies, and more!


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## Dashery (Jul 24, 2014)

Deareux said:


> I'd totally be in for a sweets swap! I don't bake, but I have access to TONS of Asian candy. Gummies from Japan, entertaining candy kits, so much Pocky, mushroom cookies, and more!


Will there be Hi-chew? I'm in if there's Hi-chew.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I can only get my favorite flavors at conventions.


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## LolaJay (Jul 24, 2014)

Deareux said:


> I'd totally be in for a sweets swap! I don't bake, but I have access to TONS of Asian candy. Gummies from Japan, entertaining candy kits, so much Pocky, mushroom cookies, and more!


I will take ALL the Pocky!! LOL


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## valeried44 (Jul 24, 2014)

I like just about anything chocolate or baked treats.  I LOVE Lindor Truffles.  Not that I don't like salty/savory snacks, but I'm a sweets gal through and through.


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## Jac13 (Jul 24, 2014)

Oohh I love sweets!!! My favorite is sugary pralines; not the creamy ones. I love smarties for work. Creme brûlée, chocolate cake and cheesecake are amongst my faves. I super love the cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Not so much the food but I will go there for dessert.


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## wadedl (Jul 24, 2014)

I payed for a shipping label on Paypal today and it asked no questions.  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Ground will ship nail polish but I found out if you are too close to your destination they will not ship ground! UPS said no way! They basically laughed at me. It seems too happen every time I go to UPS. They wanted almost $200 to ship a roll to Australia! 

I like sweet, salty, spicy, sour...


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## Jac13 (Jul 24, 2014)

button6004 said:


> I never tell them if there is liquid in it.  I usually only will mention if something is fragile, because my post office will stick the bright FRAGILE label on the items.
> 
> Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! I've had such a wonderful day but no presents since my husband got me an early gift back on Memorial Day weekend of a new Kate Spade purse from the outlets (the sale was too good to pass up!), so I'm SO antsy for the reveals to begin!


Happy Birthday!!! I am so glad you enjoyed your special days. Just think you will soon open a box full of little gifts. It's almost like a belated birthday gift.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 24, 2014)

I love crunchy/salty/spicy snacks too. I don't think I've ever really had sweet cravings, but there are some chips that I have to buy if I see them at the store. Namely the Lay's Tapatio Lime chips. They satisfy a crunchy/spicy craving that is just the best.


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## Christa W (Jul 24, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I love crunchy/salty/spicy snacks too. I don't think I've ever really had sweet cravings, but there are some chips that I have to buy if I see them at the store. Namely the Lay's Tapatio Lime chips. They satisfy a crunchy/spicy craving that is just the best.


OMG I love those!!
I love any and all sweets!!! I love candy of all kinds. From Twizzlers to Reece's Pieces to Nerds. I love Snickers, Twix and Dove Dark Chocolate. From cookies to fudge to caramels.

Dang it. Now I want some sweets.

I can't send my Swapbuddy the one homemade candy I make for Christmas just because of the summer weather but I promise at Christmastime I will be sending a bunch. Up north we call it Angel Food candy.


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 24, 2014)

You ladies are so creative with your homemade candy, crafts, and local treats! I hope my buddy is not disappointed that she will not be getting those, but at least she is getting something sparkly!


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## emilylithium (Jul 24, 2014)

I'm pretty bad at homemade anything, but I will try my best. local treats? I think my buddy could expect to get a lot of asian snacks, hope she likes it!


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## SaraP (Jul 25, 2014)

Deareux said:


> I'd totally be in for a sweets swap! I don't bake, but I have access to TONS of Asian candy. Gummies from Japan, entertaining candy kits, so much Pocky, mushroom cookies, and more!





LolaJay said:


> I will take ALL the Pocky!! LOL


OMG Pocky!!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

MMMM POCKY. Ok I love love love how all these Asiany snacks that I grew up with are becoming more main stream. It means I can get my Hello Panda on via a trip to target instead of making a special trip to the asian grocery or have my parents send me a package!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

MMMM POCKY. Ok I love love love how all these Asiany snacks that I grew up with are becoming more main stream. It means I can get my Hello Panda on via a trip to target instead of making a special trip to the asian grocery or have my parents send me a package!


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## meaganola (Jul 25, 2014)

There's this one Japanese (at least I *think* it was Japanese) candy that I used to get that I absolutely *loved*.  It came in blister packs like allergy meds, and the candy itself was pressed powder like Sweetarts.  And I only remember it coming in one flavor:  Yogurt.  I used to get it at a pan-Asian-but-heavily-Japanese grocery store in Seattle in the late '90s/early '00s, but it disappeared from there probably around 2004.  I've checked many Asian markets since then (I live within a mile or two of what seems like just about every Asian market in this city.  Pan-Asian, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Russian), and I just can't find it *anywhere*.


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## cobainrls (Jul 25, 2014)

Deareux said:


> I'd totally be in for a sweets swap! I don't bake, but I have access to TONS of Asian candy. Gummies from Japan, entertaining candy kits, so much Pocky, mushroom cookies, and more!


What market are you doing to? I have one right down the road from me and I don't remember seeing that much candy. I have seen the candy that has the rice paper and you don't have to peel it off and you can eat the wrapper. Do you know what I am talking about?


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## Babs28 (Jul 25, 2014)

My absolute favorite sweets are the chocolate dipped fruit from Godiva and fondant!  I LOVE them both! MMMM!  Especially the chocolate drizzled bananas and the chocolate covered stem berries!  I'm in HEAVEN eating them! I always get Z's birthday cake made with fondant decorations so I can eat the fondant at my leisure.  These are two of my favorite things!!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  :wub:   :luv:


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## trekkersangel (Jul 25, 2014)

German Marzipan is my heaven on Earth.  And if we're getting super specific. . . German Marzipan from Lubeck, Germany.  Aaah. . . to live in Germany again.

Although I'm a sweet freak.  I eat anything.  I love chocolate, I love taffy, I love sweet tarts (especially the chewy ones), I love minty things &amp; LOVE butter mints.  I eat everything!!!!!!  

Now I'm hungry.


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## button6004 (Jul 25, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> My absolute favorite sweets are the chocolate dipped fruit from Godiva and fondant!  I LOVE them both! MMMM!  Especially the chocolate drizzled bananas and the chocolate covered stem berries!  I'm in HEAVEN eating them! I always get Z's birthday cake made with fondant decorations so I can eat the fondant at my leisure.  These are two of my favorite things!!!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  :wub:   :luv:


Babs, chocolate covered bananas are about the only chocolate thing I absolutely love.  OM NOM. We go to a small chocolate festival every year near where we live and I always go to the chocolate covered bananas!

Add me to the bench of the salty snacks.  I'm not a big sweets person (although I did devour nearly an entire bag of cinnamon sugar pita chips yesterday!). When I do eat sweets, I am a lover of all things citrus flavored and sour.  Last night, my birthday dessert was sorbet- one scoop of blackberry, one scoop of lime. OMG. Best combo ever!

I am adding something homemade to my buddy's box- I learned how to make body scrubs and made them as the favors to help my mom, who was hosting.  I use almond oil and add just a bit of vanilla scent.  It's fantastic!


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 25, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> German Marzipan is my heaven on Earth.  And if we're getting super specific. . . German Marzipan from Lubeck, Germany.  Aaah. . . to live in Germany again.
> 
> Although I'm a sweet freak.  I eat anything.  I love chocolate, I love taffy, I love sweet tarts (especially the chewy ones), I love minty things &amp; LOVE butter mints.  I eat everything!!!!!!
> 
> Now I'm hungry.


OMG I am obsessed with marzipan--love it so much!  I blame my growing up on a military base in Germany!


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## Lolo22 (Jul 25, 2014)

sarap said:


> How does everyone feel about homemade candy type items?


Love it! And love the sweet swap idea! I love pretty much all candies except cherry anything. Super dark chocolate, coconut, mint, caramel, crunchy things, omg I could go on forever. I don't go out to eat often and usually make most things from scratch because there's something about homemade things that taste 100x better!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

My boyfriend thinks I'm the worst. I have a super intense sweet tooth that ALWAYS basically be followed up by something savory/salty...which then must be followed up by something sweet  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I like all milk and white chocolate goodies! But I'm not a fan of fruit creme filled things or cherry. I'm sad to be moving to a place without a See's candy though. I grew up on that (elementary school candy bar sales anyone?). Then when I came to WI, they opened a Sees, I flipped out, and turned a bunch of people into Sees fans!


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## Christa W (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> My boyfriend thinks I'm the worst. I have a super intense sweet tooth that ALWAYS basically be followed up by something savory/salty...which then must be followed up by something sweet  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> I like all milk and white chocolate goodies! But I'm not a fan of fruit creme filled things or cherry. I'm sad to be moving to a place without a See's candy though. I grew up on that (elementary school candy bar sales anyone?). Then when I came to WI, they opened a Sees, I flipped out, and turned a bunch of people into Sees fans!


I'm the exact opposite. I love to eat salty things like sunflower seeds or peanuts and then following that up with a big bowl of Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream... Preferably while I'm watching something cheesy like Sharknado or Bridezillas on TV.


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## valeried44 (Jul 25, 2014)

bsquared said:


> @@LolaJay I am doing ok!! Rough couple week at works but I'm alive so I can't complain!! How are you??
> 
> Favorite candy: all of them. Except grape stuff. Nasty grape.
> 
> Edit: if anyone is ever in Minnesota, you MUST go to jim's apple farm, which bills itself as the worlds largest candy store. It's literally a barn the length of a football field FULL OF CANDY. Screw Disney world, the candy barn is the best place on earth, hands down. Whoever I get for secret Santa is definitely getting some candy (too hot now and they just opened for the season last week).


Wow!  I just googled Jim's Apple Farm and found a video that takes you through Jim's.  Candy, baked goods, meats, novelties.  How on earth have I not heard of this place?  I see a road trip in my future!  Thanks for the recommendation!


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## jennm149 (Jul 25, 2014)

sarap said:


> I made rum balls once for Christmas, thought they'd be wonderful and made a ton. Gag! No one would eat them, lol.


@SaraP -  I am out of "likes" for today or I would have liked this. 

I got the same reaction to homemade fruitcake.  The upside was -- I got to eat all the fruitcake, and the fact that it took until sometime in February was OK because it gets better with age.  Hope you enjoyed those rum balls!


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## jennm149 (Jul 25, 2014)

sarap said:


> Sweet Swap?!? I knew you gals were sweet, didn't know we had so many sweet tooth's :lol:


Oh my goodness.  Count me in on this one -- at least when the whether gets cooler!  A sweet swap for Halloween??


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## Lolo22 (Jul 25, 2014)

valeried44 said:


> Wow!  I just googled Jim's Apple Farm and found a video that takes you through Jim's.  Candy, baked goods, meats, novelties.  How on earth have I not heard of this place?  I see a road trip in my future!  Thanks for the recommendation!


Oh my gosh, me too! I've never heard of it but it's only like an hour (?) away.  We were looking for an apple orchard trip, but apple orchard plus football field of candy and jam is even better! Saw the picture of the wall of jam....omg drool.


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## jennm149 (Jul 25, 2014)

So I've been sitting here trying to think about candy I don't like.  And about all I can come up with is that I really don't care for dark chocolate, because, well, because it's not sweet enough.  If I'm going to eat candy, I want it to be sweet!

I love snacks that combine sweet/savory. When work trips take me through O'Hare, I always have to bring home a giant bag of Garrett's Chicago blend (mmm, caramel and cheddar cheese -- it's delicious!)


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## lastnite629 (Jul 25, 2014)

Favorite candy? I'm a sour fan.  For my birthday, My mom always sends me a big box of JUST sour candies. It's pretty awesome.    I like white chocolate, but not really a fan of other chocolates. Unless it's chocolate with nuts and caramel. I'd rather have the nuts &amp; caramel alone, though.  lol 

Give me all the salty snacks.  Peanut Lovers Chex Mix is like my holy grail snack.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

Christa W said:


> I'm the exact opposite. I love to eat salty things like sunflower seeds or peanuts and then following that up with a big bowl of Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream... Preferably while I'm watching something cheesy like Sharknado or Bridezillas on TV.


My favorite is some chocolate malted crunch ice cream from rite aid with lays ruffle chips. I'm gross sometimes and I'm ok with it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Lolo22 (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> My favorite is some* chocolate malted crunch ice cream* from rite aid with lays ruffle chips. I'm gross sometimes and I'm ok with it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Excusay muah, brand please????  I must try.

Anyone had cinnamon roll ice cream before? It should be illegal it is that good.


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## Kristine Walker (Jul 25, 2014)

@ That ice cream sounds amazing! Alas, no rite aids in my town, I wonder if Walgreen's has something similar?


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

It is a Rite Aid brand ice cream. Since I moved to WI there are no rite aids. I don't even know if they still sell ice cream??? But the brand is Rite Aid


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 25, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Excusay muah, brand please????  I must try.
> 
> Anyone had cinnamon roll ice cream before? It should be illegal it is that good.


I just tried the new Cinabun branded cinnamon rolls--they come in a box in the refrigerated section and have a can with four giant rolls, a special cinnamon/butter sauce (where the frosting normally is in the can), and a big tube of frosting!  They taste so much like the real thing!  One more big city treat now available to all!


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 25, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> I just tried the new Cinabun branded cinnamon rolls--they come in a box in the refrigerated section and have a can with four giant rolls, a special cinnamon/butter sauce (where the frosting normally is in the can), and a big tube of frosting!  They taste so much like the real thing!  One more big city treat now available to all!


Oh, this could be dangerous.  I love cinnamon rolls.  Best ones ever are at Isles Bunn &amp; Coffee in Minneapolis.  They put tubs of frosting out for you, so you can add as much frosting as you want!!!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 25, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Oh, this could be dangerous.  I love cinnamon rolls.  Best ones ever are at Isles Bunn &amp; Coffee in Minneapolis.  They put tubs of frosting out for you, so you can add as much frosting as you want!!!


NOOOOO!  Too evil! (Which of course means YES, I NEED THAT IN MY LIFE!!!!!))))


----------



## wadedl (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> It is a Rite Aid brand ice cream. Since I moved to WI there are no rite aids. I don't even know if they still sell ice cream??? But the brand is Rite Aid


Its Thrifty Ice Cream! I have been to places that just have a Thrifty Ice Cream store. In Tijuana they have one and somewhere in the United States that I went one vacation, can't remember where. Chocolate Malted Crunch is my fave!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> I like all milk and white chocolate goodies! But I'm not a fan of fruit creme filled things or cherry. I'm sad to be moving to a place without a See's candy though. I grew up on that (elementary school candy bar sales anyone?). Then when I came to WI, they opened a Sees, I flipped out, and turned a bunch of people into Sees fans!


My person may or may not be getting a few See's items...


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> My person may or may not be getting a few See's items...


Oh is it me? Thanks girl. Too bad they discontinued my favorite one (almond square I think? Much like the walnut square... But almonds). California brittle is what I live for. If I was going to be executed Id ask for my last meal to be like 10 pounds of California Brittle.

Ok so maybe that last part isn't true. But i do love it.


----------



## SaraP (Jul 25, 2014)

I give clients See's for Easter every year. This year I was running late to order online and stopped in just a few days prior to the holiday, right when they opened. There was a line to get in of about 12 people, everyone was over the age of 75!

It was the most fun I've ever had shopping there, they were all so cute, each item was chosen with the utmost care and thought. It made me miss my nana, who always had a box of See's and would let you pick one every visit, even if it would spoil your dinner.


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## Lolo22 (Jul 25, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Oh, this could be dangerous.  I love cinnamon rolls.  Best ones ever are at Isles Bunn &amp; Coffee in Minneapolis.  They put tubs of frosting out for you, so you can add as much frosting as you want!!!


Oh! I just ate lunch at a new place you have to add to your Minneapolis tour!  Hen House.  They have the most amazing looking bakery cases!  Cheesecake and s'mores bars the size of your head!   Just don't forget to tell me if your tour comes to town so I can tag along!  I'll take you to my faves and you can show me this tub 'o frosting place.  I will make sure to starve myself for a week first  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## DonnaD (Jul 25, 2014)

I like milk chocolate, caramel and sweet and salty snacks.  I don't like gummy or hard or sour candies.  My favourite thing right now is the Godiva Salted Caramel milk chocolate bars.  Oh my yum!!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

BLEEEH. I agree @@DonnaD ! My boyfriend, his family, my siblings all LOOOVE gummy sour candies. It's so hard to escape. Give me the chocolate


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

Do you peeps with some serious sweet teeth have a favorite pastry? What is it?

I remember being in love with cream puffs as a kid. The WI state fair is known for them and they are godly! It was hard to come by a good cream puff back home in CA. right now I also love macarons, Italian cookies (especially amaretti. Yummmm), and I will never turn down a chocolate croissant.


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## SaraP (Jul 25, 2014)

Almond bear claws! I get them to eat with my coffee and somehow they are gone before my coffee has cooled enough to drink.


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

sarap said:


> Almond bear claws! I get them to eat with my coffee and somehow they are gone before my coffee has cooled enough to drink.


I don't think I've ever had a bear claw! I loove cruellers though (sp?) I noticed that WI is lacking in stand alone mom and pop style donut shops. I remember asking people where I can find a donut shop and they didn't know what I meant!


----------



## DonnaD (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Do you peeps with some serious sweet teeth have a favorite pastry? What is it?
> 
> I remember being in love with cream puffs as a kid. The WI state fair is known for them and they are godly! It was hard to come by a good cream puff back home in CA. right now I also love macarons, Italian cookies (especially amaretti. Yummmm), and I will never turn down a chocolate croissant.


I LOVE (!!!) cream puffs and eclairs.  A couple of times I year, I spend the entire weekend making laminated dough for puff pastries.  I make an incredible cheese danish with pineapple if I do say so myself.  

Sadly, the evidence of my love for sweets is reflected in the amount of arm flab I have.  I really don't care.  I will die fat and happy.


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

DonnaD said:


> I LOVE (!!!) cream puffs and eclairs. A couple of times I year, I spend the entire weekend making laminated dough for puff pastries. I make an incredible cheese danish with pineapple if I do say so myself.
> 
> Sadly, the evidence of my love for sweets is reflected in the amount of arm flab I have. I really don't care. I will die fat and happy.


Ok I get confused sometimes. Eclairs are supposed to be full of custard right? Not whipped cream? I proudly wear my love of all these treats right on my booty  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I sleep just fine at night


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## DonnaD (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Ok I get confused sometimes. Eclairs are supposed to be full of custard right? Not whipped cream? I proudly wear my love of all these treats right on my booty  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I sleep just fine at night


Yep.  Both are choux pastries but filled with different things.


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## trekkersangel (Jul 25, 2014)

Chocolate Croissants!!!! Oh man! You're making me miss Germany!!! I remember walking to the village bakery every morning to get my chocolate croissant warm from the oven! The village baker LOVED me &amp; my toe headed kids!

Oh &amp; speaking of pastries, it makes me miss the lantern festival there! (St. Martins Day) The whole village would make paper lanterns &amp; we would meet in the village square. As a village we would parade through the town behind a horse &amp; then we had a huge bonfire at the school. The village baker would bake these huge pretzels &amp; roll the in cinnamon &amp; sugar &amp; he would give one to every person at the bonfire! They were divine!!!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

I want a teeny tiny pretzel tattoo. I don't know why but I want one.


----------



## Christa W (Jul 25, 2014)

Thanks to all this sweets talk I whipped up a quick batch of Betty Crocker snack sized choc chip cookies on my lunch. It's only a buck for the mix and it makes like 8 cookies so I can try and curb my over indulgence of sugared treats.


----------



## Bizgirlva (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Do you peeps with some serious sweet teeth have a favorite pastry? What is it?
> 
> I remember being in love with cream puffs as a kid. The WI state fair is known for them and they are godly! It was hard to come by a good cream puff back home in CA. right now I also love macarons, Italian cookies (especially amaretti. Yummmm), and I will never turn down a chocolate croissant.


Whoopie pies.  My mom made them when I was a kid with (before we knew it was the devil trans fat laden) crisco filling.


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 25, 2014)

I always seem to order a chocolate or almond croissant from any coffee shop I go to. But also cream puffs from Beard Papa's in San Francisco are to die for too!


----------



## Kelli (Jul 25, 2014)

Custard Long John's, not the whipped cream type filling ones the custardy, pudding-like filling ones. We have one donut shop in the area and their donuts aren't that great, but the Wesco gas stations around here, have the best custard long johns.

I also love muffins, particularly cranberry-orange ones!


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## jennm149 (Jul 25, 2014)

My all-time favorite pastry is something that isn't made anymore, at least where I live.  Dunkin' Donuts used to make a white cream (not yellow custard) filled glazed donut that had a chocolate glaze on top.  Kind of like the Boston Kreme, but with white cream instead of custard.  In its current incarnation, the white cream is just filling what would otherwise be a cakier jelly donut and no chocolate glaze.  Better than any custard variety, IMO, but not like the old days.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

Now, my favorite pastry is probably a cherry-cheese danish from a bakery in south Jersey that my MIL brings them when she visits us.

@SaraP -- your memory reminded me of how my Nana used to put these little cupholders in her bread box with candies for us when we'd visit her apartment.  We'd give her a hug and run to get them, and gobble them up right away.  Then she'd take us to White Castle for lunch.  Good times.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> MMMM POCKY. Ok I love love love how all these Asiany snacks that I grew up with are becoming more main stream. It means I can get my Hello Panda on via a trip to target instead of making a special trip to the asian grocery or have my parents send me a package!


I love Hello Panda! I got a huge 10 pack at this awesome Asian market that I just discovered. I love all of the Asian snacks, though!


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## CurlyTails (Jul 25, 2014)

I also love Snocaps, peanut M&amp;Ms, and maple nut goodies.

I'm addicted to those chocolate crossaint things at Panera.


----------



## BSquared (Jul 25, 2014)

valeried44 said:


> Wow! I just googled Jim's Apple Farm and found a video that takes you through Jim's. Candy, baked goods, meats, novelties. How on earth have I not heard of this place? I see a road trip in my future! Thanks for the recommendation!


And @@Lolo22 you HAVE TO GO. It's seriously the BEST. The only downside to it getting so popular is that it gets INSANE on the weekends in the fall. Best time to go is a weeknight (I think they're open til 7) when there's nobody there.


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## BSquared (Jul 25, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Oh, this could be dangerous. I love cinnamon rolls. Best ones ever are at Isles Bunn &amp; Coffee in Minneapolis. They put tubs of frosting out for you, so you can add as much frosting as you want!!!


I need to try this place, I hear so many good things!!


----------



## SaraP (Jul 25, 2014)

You all had me at "tubs of frosting"


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## BSquared (Jul 25, 2014)

I wonder of they'll let me put the entire tub on my cinnamon roll? Because I would, and would make zero apologies for it  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Babs28 (Jul 25, 2014)

I don't know how I forgot to mention this but I LOVE soufflé!  Love it!  I will pick out a restaurant based upon their desert selection. If they have soufflé, we are going!   MMMM!! So yummy.  I went to Morton's steakhouse by myself once (I was on a business trip) and I ordered the soufflé and the waiter leaned down and whispered to me "Miss, this is a desert for two".  I looked at him and said, "Yes, I am aware. Don't worry. I will eat it all.".  He just stared at me and shook his head!!  LOL  

I really think I could live on soufflé!  

Fortunately, two of the three sweets that I LOVE to eat, I can't make myself!  I could make the chocolate covered bananas or fruit but what's the point when I have a Godiva store 4 miles from my job!  I don't go there often though.  I really should.

Now, I am dying for some fondant and soufflé!! MMMM


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## bonita22 (Jul 25, 2014)

I have a sweet tooth, I love anything sweet. I like all kinds of chocolate: milk, dark &amp; mint are my favorites. A sweet snack with peanuts or pecans is usually the best thing ever. I also like fruity flavored chewy candy.


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## sstich79 (Jul 25, 2014)

Oh, sweets... you girls are really speaking the language of my people now! My favorite pastry has to be creamhorns, but only from a bakery here in Louisville called Plehn's. I don't know what they do, but I'm pretty sure it involves mixing crack into the powdered sugar they're sprinkled with. Their variation involves encrusting the ends with this amazing flaky coconut/powdered sugar sort of "crust" that makes a hideous but divinely delicious mess everywhere as soon as you bite into it. My other favorite ever is a bread pudding with amaretto butter sauce from a restaurant in Cincinnati called Bella Luna. Again, I'm pretty sure that psychotropic substances are included in the recipe. I have tried desperately to duplicate it, to no avail.

I'm actually really frustrated that I can't include candy as a local treat for my gal... of course, bourbon balls are a big deal here, but I actually hate bourbon (which means that my Kentucky citizenship will eventually be revoked). My favorite Louisville-original candy is called a modjeska: homemade marshmallows wrapped in caramel, originally made to honor an actress who once visited our fair city. Sadly, I doubt either candy would survive traveling in the summer heat. :-(


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## Dashery (Jul 25, 2014)

Wohoo! I have everything all wrapped up. Now, I'm just writing little notes for my gifts. I can't wait to pack it all up and ship it off bright and early tomorrow morning! (The first page of the thread says shipping starts the 27th, but that's a Sunday...So, shhh! Don't tell anyone I'm a day early!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> )


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

@@sstich79 ooh. Any Louisville recs? I think we'll be driving through Louisville on the move to Nashville and we might want to stop by somewhere for lunch. Last year when I was moving back *up* from my summer in Nashville, we stopped in Louisville and went to a coffee shop that had GOOOOD reviews. It was no bueno...


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## BSquared (Jul 25, 2014)

I keep forgetting mailing starts like....now!! I'm so excited to see reveals!! My box can't go out til Tuesday (order coming in Monday) but still that's so SOON!!


----------



## meaganola (Jul 25, 2014)

I finally received the last shipping notice for orders for this swap!  USPS doesn't have it in their system yet, but based on past experience with this particular company, I should have it Wednesday.  Then I'll wrap, pack, and mail next Saturday before _Guardians of the Galaxy_ (I see Marvel movies opening weekend.  Period)!


----------



## sstich79 (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @@sstich79 ooh. Any Louisville recs? I think we'll be driving through Louisville on the move to Nashville and we might want to stop by somewhere for lunch. Last year when I was moving back *up* from my summer in Nashville, we stopped in Louisville and went to a coffee shop that had GOOOOD reviews. It was no bueno...


Oh no, which coffee shop was that? Tragic, because we do have some great ones! Let's see... I'm assuming you'll be on I-65, which cuts through downtown, so in that vicinity I would probably point you toward the quirk of Hillbilly Tea, some solid Irish pub fare at Patrick O'Shea's, or some reeeeeeeally good pizza at Impellizeri's. On the pricier end, Proof on Main is a pretty snazzy restaurant tucked into a boutique hotel, which also features expansive free art galleries filled with all kinds of creative craziness that you can explore after you eat. If you want to venture a little away from your route, one of my very favorite restaurants is in an epic eccentric neighborhood called the Highlands, about ten minutes outside of downtown. It's called Ramsi's Cafe on the World, it's awesome, and it's right around the corner from my favorite coffee shop. The only bad thing about detouring to the Highlands is that you'll probably want to wander Bardstown Rd. to shop all the little boutiques, galleries, and whatnot, and you'll never get to Nashville! ;-)


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 25, 2014)

@@sstich79 segundo coffee? I think? We went to the location near a bakery. It was the hipsterest hipster bakery ever. We got free treats because they loved that my boyfriend and I had great glasses on lol. But, Segundo (???) wasn't good at all!

I'm hoping we will get the chance to do a Louisville weekend or day trip!


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## sstich79 (Jul 25, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> @@sstich79 segundo coffee? I think? We went to the location near a bakery. It was the hipsterest hipster bakery ever. We got free treats because they loved that my boyfriend and I had great glasses on lol. But, Segundo (???) wasn't good at all!
> 
> I'm hoping we will get the chance to do a Louisville weekend or day trip!


Hmm... I bet you mean Sunergos, which is not my jam at all. It's all about Heine Bros. in my book. And you'll definitely have to make a weekend of my fair city... we've got a lot to offer, believe it or not! The restaurant scene is out-of-this-world, and lots of great cultural offerings of all types. When I was younger, I always thought I'd leave Louisville for some big glitzy city, but now that I'm at least technically a grown-up, I've realized that Louisville is a pretty bad-ass place to live!

I'll probably be hanging out in Nashville a bit over the next few months, actually, because my niece is a travel nurse who's headed there for a three-month stint starting next week. Maybe we could play tour guide for an evening in each other's respective cities once you've settled in! ;-)


----------



## cobainrls (Jul 26, 2014)

So this is kinda off topic but, I wanted to share. My bday is tomorrow but, I celebrated tonight with dinner since I have to get up super early for work on Sunday. @@Deareux came to dinner with me and gave me an awesome gift it is






Sorry I don't know how to do the spoiler thing.  How cool is this kit? I was thinking of getting this for me and now I don't. Love! Edit: Expect it came with an OCC lip tar instead of the hourglass gloss but, it is about the same color!


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 26, 2014)

@@cobainrls  Happy birthday (tomorrow)! I hope you have a great day!!


----------



## DonnaD (Jul 26, 2014)

@@cobainrls Happy birthday!


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## SaraP (Jul 26, 2014)

@cobainrls I think it maybe after midnight where you are so  :mussical: Happy Birthday! :mussical:


----------



## Christa W (Jul 26, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> So this is kinda off topic but, I wanted to share. My bday is tomorrow but, I celebrated tonight with dinner since I have to get up super early for work on Sunday. @@Deareux came to dinner with me and gave me an awesome gift it is
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I almost bought that the other day but I am on a no buy.  I love this.  Happy Birthday!


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## dancersmum (Jul 26, 2014)

@@cobainrls - that sounds like white rabbit

&amp; Happy birthday!


----------



## bonita22 (Jul 26, 2014)

Happy Birthday @@cobainrls! Hope you have a wonderful day!


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## bonita22 (Jul 26, 2014)

I'm ready to mail out Monday! I'm using a flat rate box so my girl should get her gift on Wednesday or Thursday! I decided against a local item mostly because I couldn't think of anything. I think the gift is fabulous without it.


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## jennm149 (Jul 26, 2014)

@cobainrls- happy birthday!


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## Kelli (Jul 26, 2014)

@@cobainrls Happy Birthday! What a great gift! I bought that for myself and to share some in gifts and it's a really nice set!


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 26, 2014)

@@cobainrls Happy Birthday!


----------



## Babs28 (Jul 26, 2014)

@cobainrls Happy Birthday!  Have a wonderful day!!!


----------



## Dashery (Jul 26, 2014)

Oh my applesauce. So, I sent my package. The post office says it will be there Monday.

Well then.

It was actually more cost effective to send it that fast.

Wohoo! Hope the summerswap reveal thread is ready!


----------



## DonnaD (Jul 26, 2014)

I sent mine out today.  She should have it Monday!


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## Deareux (Jul 26, 2014)

@@cobainrls I'm glad you liked it! Thanks again for inviting me out on your birthday dinner. I had a great time!


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## BSquared (Jul 26, 2014)

Ahhhh reveals in like 2 days!!! I'm so excited!! Is there a reveal thread or are we doing it here?

And happy birthday @@cobainrls!!!


----------



## sstich79 (Jul 26, 2014)

(Edited because double-posting is dumb.)


----------



## sstich79 (Jul 26, 2014)

Eek! I've been on vacation for the last week, so I'm going to be in the latter part of the shipping window. I can't believe it's time to send already! And chiming in with the chorus of happy birthday, @@cobainrls!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 26, 2014)

bsquared said:


> Ahhhh reveals in like 2 days!!! I'm so excited!! Is there a reveal thread or are we doing it here?
> 
> And happy birthday @@cobainrls!!!


we will have a reveal thread!


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## cobainrls (Jul 26, 2014)

Thanks Ladies for the birthday wishes! So far, it has been a great day! My dinner last night was awesome! I think I might even go have an adult beverage for lunch! Hope everyone has a great day! Oh and yay for reveals soon!


----------



## jayeme (Jul 26, 2014)

Happy birthday @@cobainrls! Definitely have that adult beverage for lunch, it's your birthday!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

I still need to wrap and pack my gift so I can send it out....Does anyone know what the end of the shipping window is? Not that I want to make my person wait so long, but sometimes I can't really get away from work during lunch so it might not be first thing next week.


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 26, 2014)

Can't wait to see all the reveals!  I just got shipping notice on my last gift and it should be here Wed.  I'll have plenty of time to wrap and ship before Aug 8.  I can't wait to get it into the mail!  Then, and only then, will I stop waffling on everything.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## tgooberbutt (Jul 26, 2014)

@cobainrls Happy Birthday!


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 26, 2014)

I'm SO excited for the reveals to start!!! I just adore all you ladies &amp; can't wait to see all the fabulous gifts you came up with for your swap buddies! This is going to be the best week ever!!!!


----------



## Dashery (Jul 26, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Happy birthday @@cobainrls! Definitely have that adult beverage for lunch, it's your birthday!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> I still need to wrap and pack my gift so I can send it out....Does anyone know what the end of the shipping window is? Not that I want to make my person wait so long, but sometimes I can't really get away from work during lunch so it might not be first thing next week.


It looks like shipping is set up for July 27th through August 8th. So you have some time!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 26, 2014)

Oh man, I have been so excited getting my gift ready that I sort of just remembered I'll be getting a big box of goodies soon! I can't wait!


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 26, 2014)

I wrote out my note, and I think I'm ready to seal the box. Now I'll have to figure out when I can get to the post office.

I'm so excited for the reveals!


----------



## BSquared (Jul 26, 2014)

Wrote my note, box is packed, just can't seal it since there's one more thing coming in Monday then I'm done!! Awwww I'm getting all nostalgic that it's finally time. All this stuff has lived in my dining room for so long now lol


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 26, 2014)

Checking the mail will be exciting this week! I don't have any orders on the way, so it will be fun hoping that something good is in the mail from my buddy!


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 26, 2014)

I need to wrap but I hate wrapping.  It's gonna be a tissue paper situation but probably not til next weekend.  So exciting that some packages are on their way!!


----------



## Jac13 (Jul 26, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I finally received the last shipping notice for orders for this swap!  USPS doesn't have it in their system yet, but based on past experience with this particular company, I should have it Wednesday.  Then I'll wrap, pack, and mail next Saturday before _Guardians of the Galaxy_ (I see Marvel movies opening weekend.  Period)!


I saw an advance screening of this movie Tuesday. It is so funny!!!! It was well done and all and all great family movie. Spoiler the beginning is touching so don't miss it and there is no after credit extra footage. Enjoy!


----------



## Jac13 (Jul 26, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> Thanks Ladies for the birthday wishes! So far, it has been a great day! My dinner last night was awesome! I think I might even go have an adult beverage for lunch! Hope everyone has a great day! Oh and yay for reveals soon!


Happy Birthday!!! An adult beverage sounds good. Have one for me.


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 26, 2014)

Present wrapping has begun.

In related news, my 2-year-old is fascinated by all the "pretty things" and keeps trying to hide them and keep them for herself. My fear is after I ship, finding some presents hidden in her room. My current distraction tactic was "gifting" her the pink Ipsy makeup bag from this month. She's rather in love and happily storing her Hello Kitty chapstick in it.


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## valeried44 (Jul 26, 2014)

@@ashleylind  Beautiful job on the wrapping!  Pretty paper, curly ribbons, purple hearts - looks like a lot of fun!


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 26, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Present wrapping has begun.
> 
> In related news, my 2-year-old is fascinated by all the "pretty things" and keeps trying to hide them and keep them for herself. My fear is after I ship, finding some presents hidden in her room. My current distraction tactic was "gifting" her the pink Ipsy makeup bag from this month. She's rather in love and happily storing her Hello Kitty chapstick in it.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


That wrapping paper is so pretty!!!!!! Love the heart notes too!! So cute  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Christa W (Jul 26, 2014)

I'm not going to lie I'm starting to get excited to find out who has me and what my Swapbuddy might have come up with!!


----------



## SaraP (Jul 26, 2014)

I truly have no idea who has me  :w00t:


----------



## jayeme (Jul 27, 2014)

Hey guys, my laptop charger just broke (it has been held together with tape for awhile now) so I only have a few minutes of online time - I'll order a new one but it'll be a few days before it gets here, so if my person was really on the ball and mailed me a gift that will arrive early next week, I might not be able to post my reveal right away  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I'll try to get online somehow and let you all know if it arrives but a real reveal will have to wait until I can use my computer again.


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## lastnite629 (Jul 27, 2014)

My area (western West Virginia)  is predicted to have some possibly severe weather this afternoon &amp; evening.  Boo. Hopefully, We don't lose power.   We had a derecho hit our area 2 years ago that caused us to lose power for 4 days.  Lost everything in our fridge &amp; freezer.   I've been paranoid ever since.

Just in case, though. I wanted to say it will probably be Wednesday before I can mail out my swapbuddies package.


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 27, 2014)

Hey Ladies!! I'll link to a reveal thread this afternoon so we can get to posting! My phone is about to die and I'll do it when I'm on a real computer  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## chelsealady (Jul 27, 2014)

I got exactly Jack squat done yesterday. DH decided he needs to shirts and pants for school next week. My sister's birthday lunch turned into a birthday dinner. I completely forget that we had to take the dogs to the groomer. I need to go to the grocery store. And I still haven't written my note.

Of course if I would get off my butt and get started instead of drinking coffee and playing on MUT I could get a lot more accomplished.


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## Kelli (Jul 27, 2014)

It's exciting to think a few people will have gifts within the next couple days! It seemed like such a long time to shop, yet it has kind of flew by and I can't believe it's already time to have reveals.


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## Jac13 (Jul 27, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Present wrapping has begun.
> 
> In related news, my 2-year-old is fascinated by all the "pretty things" and keeps trying to hide them and keep them for herself. My fear is after I ship, finding some presents hidden in her room. My current distraction tactic was "gifting" her the pink Ipsy makeup bag from this month. She's rather in love and happily storing her Hello Kitty chapstick in it.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Oh this is so pretty! I don't blame your daughter; I am fascinated by all the pretties as well, lol.


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## Jac13 (Jul 27, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> I got exactly Jack squat done yesterday. DH decided he needs to shirts and pants for school next week. My sister's birthday lunch turned into a birthday dinner. I completely forget that we had to take the dogs to the groomer. I need to go to the grocery store. And I still haven't written my note.
> 
> Of course if I would get off my butt and get started instead of drinking coffee and playing on MUT I could get a lot more accomplished.


You will do great. I have to go and buy some more Josie Maran hand cream. Thanks for introducing me to it. I love it but sadly I am out, lol.


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## meaganola (Jul 27, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> My area (western West Virginia)  is predicted to have some possibly severe weather this afternoon &amp; evening.  Boo. Hopefully, We don't lose power.   We had a derecho hit our area 2 years ago that caused us to lose power for 4 days.  Lost everything in our fridge &amp; freezer.   I've been paranoid ever since.
> 
> Just in case, though. I wanted to say it will probably be Wednesday before I can mail out my swapbuddies package.


When I was growing up, we would have windstorms every couple of years that would knock out the power for a day or two.  Somehow, they always hit on the weekends.  They were so frequent that we ended up developing a ritual:  We would go into town (Vancouver, WA.  You *know* you're rural when you use the phrase "go into town") to go to Fred Meyer (a one-stop shopping center) to get non-perishable stuff to eat and then go to Elmer's (a pancake house) because those two places always had power.  Then once we got back home, my parents would build a fire, and we would break out the lanterns and read.

So.  Then.  I was living in Bellevue (a suburb of Seattle) in 2006 (if I recall the year correctly).  We had a windstorm.  Hoo boy, we had a windstorm.  A tree fell on whatever fed the power to my apartment complex, and we were out of power for A WEEK AND A HALF.  Maybe even two weeks.  In December.  The rest of the area had their power back after a few days, so my coworkers only had the weekend without it, but because of the tree damage to my apartment building, it took longer.  When it first started, I went to my dad's (in the Portland area) for the weekend, but then I went back to Bellevue after the weekend was over because, hey, job.  I still remember taking my portable dvd player to work to recharge it and watching _Love, Actually_ in the dark bundled up from head to toe in polarfleece (I wore a polarfleece hat *to bed*).  I could actually feel myself losing my mind.  I would take a shower after work (we had showers at the office) and fill up water bottles with hot water to take home and snuggle up with.  I made it three days.  I finally convinced my boss to let me work out of our Portland office three hours away and convinced my aunt to let me stay with her for a few days (she happened to work a few blocks from our Portland office, and if we drove in together, she got free carpool parking, so that worked out well). 

Since that experience, I'm philosophical about losing power:  If I can find a way to be warm, I'm good, especially if I have a book (the initial weekend, it was _How to Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way_ because the library somehow had power when I was headed out of town stopped to grab something to occupy my time).  And now that I'm living in Portland, I could go to my dad's house (woodstove) or my aunt's (gas fireplace) if I lose power.  The problem at that time was that it was forty degrees in my apartment at the time, and I lived three hours away from anyone who could help since everyone else had no power, had no room for me to stay with them, or was out of town (did I mention that this was right before Christmas?).


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## jennm149 (Jul 27, 2014)

We've become a little too familiar with dealing with extended power outages around here. One of the women who works for me lost her power for 10 days in August, 2011 from Irene, another 10 days during a nor'easter over Halloween that year and then for 2 weeks after Sandy in the fall of 2012.

We lost power for only 4 days after Sandy (we were lucky to get it back so fast), but we get our water from a well, so in addition to no heat, we had no running water. We'd bought plenty of drinking water but, despite having filled several 5 gallon buckets and both tubs for grey water, we were starting to have to make strategic decisions about when to use that grey water when the power returned.

It was kind of like Little House on the Prairie. We have a gas stove, so we at least could have hot food and water. But we'd eat dinner at 4:30 while we still had some daylight to clean up with, huddle up watching a DVD on

the portable player and go to bed at 7:30. I wad never so happy as I was the morning I woke up at 4:30 and saw the time displayed on my clock!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 27, 2014)

Am I the only one that isn't really ready for her box to arrive yet?  Because once I ship and my box gets here, that means this experience is over.  I think I will have some post holiday letdown when all the reveals have been completed.


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## meaganola (Jul 27, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Am I the only one that isn't really ready for her box to arrive yet?  Because once I ship and my box gets here, that means this experience is over.  I think I will have some post holiday letdown when all the reveals have been completed.


Well...  We'll have the slumber party thread starting Friday, and then Secret Santa signups will probably start in three months!  That's not really much time at all.  The Midsummer chat thread started three and a half months ago.


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## msambrosia (Jul 27, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> My area (western West Virginia)  is predicted to have some possibly severe weather this afternoon &amp; evening.  Boo. Hopefully, We don't lose power.   We had a derecho hit our area 2 years ago that caused us to lose power for 4 days.  Lost everything in our fridge &amp; freezer.   I've been paranoid ever since.
> 
> Just in case, though. I wanted to say it will probably be Wednesday before I can mail out my swapbuddies package.


You must live somewhat near me. I'm on the KY/WV border. All this talk of storm cells and tornadoes is making me nervous! Eastern Kentucky just isn't prepared for this kind of weather. A tornado came through here a few years ago, just a few miles from my house. Wind always bothered me, but since then. it makes me a wreck. I really hope we don't lose power. I live 15 miles from the nearest town, so we're low priority; it could be a week before we get power back, especially if there's substantial storm damage all around the area.

I need to start wrapping my gift, which is on my list of things to do for today. Hopefully I can get everything packed up and ready to mail on Monday or Tuesday.


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## Babs28 (Jul 27, 2014)

Without further adieu, the Summerswap 2014 Reveal thread is live!!  It can be found here: Summerswap Reveal

I'll post a link to it in the very first post in this thread as well as in the Roadies thread.


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## lastnite629 (Jul 27, 2014)

msambrosia said:


> You must live somewhat near me. I'm on the KY/WV border. All this talk of storm cells and tornadoes is making me nervous! Eastern Kentucky just isn't prepared for this kind of weather. A tornado came through here a few years ago, just a few miles from my house. Wind always bothered me, but since then. it makes me a wreck. I really hope we don't lose power. I live 15 miles from the nearest town, so we're low priority; it could be a week before we get power back, especially if there's substantial storm damage all around the area.
> 
> I need to start wrapping my gift, which is on my list of things to do for today. Hopefully I can get everything packed up and ready to mail on Monday or Tuesday.


Hi neighbor! I'm in Huntington.  You are right about this area not being prepared for this sort of weather. . I grew up in central Arkansas so tornadoes and severe thunderstorms became pretty common for us.  Things changed for me in 2008 when my grandparents house was hit by an EF4 tornado.  They survived, but it changed how I look at storms.


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## msambrosia (Jul 27, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> Hi neighbor! I'm in Huntington.  You are right about this area not being prepared for this sort of weather. . I grew up in central Arkansas so tornadoes and severe thunderstorms became pretty common for us.  Things changed for me in 2008 when my grandparents house was hit by an EF4 tornado.  They survived, but it changed how I look at storms.


Oh my gosh. How scary! Glad to hear that your grandparents were okay. I'm in Louisa, so fairly close by!


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 27, 2014)

We're dealing with some weather issues here too, big fire about 30 miles from me blew in a ton of smoke late last night. I had to close all the windows and turn on the AC. Fires are so prevalent around where I live that I just feel so lucky that we've never had one really close to us. The one that's going right now had many people evacuate to my high school, which is so surreal. I hope winter brings some rain or we're going to be in big trouble next year.


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## chelsealady (Jul 27, 2014)

Jac13 said:


> You will do great. I have to go and buy some more Josie Maran hand cream. Thanks for introducing me to it. I love it but sadly I am out, lol.


Thanks. I love her nail polish remover wipes too. They don't work well on textures or glitters but great on creams. It's the nail polish remover that leaves your nails and fingers soft.


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## wadedl (Jul 27, 2014)

Last time we lost power for a "substantial" amount of time (11 hours) our biggest concern was will it be back tomorrow or do I have to work in the morning. We were about to take off to Vegas for a 4 weekend when they said it would be a couple of days but did not want to risk it and the power was on by the morning. I don't think we had enough gas in the car to make it to the nearest gas station with power since basically all of Southern California was without power.

We were lucky that we just had to eat the ice cream and conserve my laptop battery to charge the phones. We even had hot meals since we had a gas stove. It was actually a nice night out and I remember we had wine by candle light in the back yard.

Bad weather for us is the 84% humidity we currently have. I wish it would just rain!

We also recently had fires here from the lack of rain.


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## Christa W (Jul 27, 2014)

Packed and heading to the do it yourself postal station at my post office so I don't have to wait until tomorrow!!!


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## Kelli (Jul 27, 2014)

Like a month (or two!) ago I started to clean/organize my vanity. I took everything off/out of drawers and put into boxes. Since then, I've been pulling makeup out of the boxes whenever I put my makeup on. I have totally procrastinated on putting everything back. I'm using the prospect of having a couple new items within the next few weeks as a kick in the butt to get everything put away in a nice orderly fashion. I want my special new items to have good home when they arrive LOL

I used to be the orderly type (my cd's were always in alphabetical order, same w/ cd's etc) and lately my bookshelf is a cluttered mess and my vanity had become a clutter catch-all. No more! Most of my make up is organized and stored now! Woo-hoo!

Also, a couple weeks ago I got a spice rack to hold some of my polishes and I LOVE it! With that and the wire 3 tiered thing I had, I had just enough room for all of my polishes...then I happened to go into Ulta when they had some China Glaze's for .97 and Revlon for .47 and now there isn't enough room for all of them LOL So, I totally need to buy another of the spice racks...but still it's overall organized and it just feels sooo much nicer going over to a set space just for my nails stuff and being able to easily find what I'm looking for! Hoorah for organization!

Any tips for organizing makeup/beauty products?


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## chelsealady (Jul 27, 2014)

Much box Tetris has gone on in my floor tonight. I'm packaged.


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## trekkersangel (Jul 27, 2014)

It's almost Monday &amp; I know of a few reveals happening tomorrow!! (Being a roadie rocks!).

I'm SO excited to see all the fun things you ladies put together! This week is going to be the best week ever!!!!!!!!!!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 27, 2014)

Dear Swap Buddy:

Please use a roadie to let me know when you ship! I'll be moving on the 8th and will have mail forwarding in case you ship toward the end of the period  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelli (Jul 27, 2014)

I just turned on some Regina Spektor and am doing some more wrapping!


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## jesemiaud (Jul 27, 2014)

Swap buddy...I'll be home from my work trip on 7/30... If you've shipped my package and you don't hear from me...that's why!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> To my buddy...I have a shipping notice on my last item... I hope it comes soon and I'll get your package out asap!


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## marigoldsue (Jul 27, 2014)

Dear Swap Buddy...My weekend got way from me, and I have not gotten your package wrapped.  I am not sure if I can get to it before Wed and I don't want it out over the weekend.  So I may not be shipping till next week.  I hope you don't mind.  I promise it's worth the wait    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Kelly Silva (Jul 27, 2014)

To my swap buddy: One of the finishing touch items isn't being sent out until tomorrow, but as soon as that gets here, I can send it. It's pretty small so shipping shouldn't take long. It will probably be here this week   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

To my person: I just realized I will be out of town all next week Aug 2-9 or so (last minute plans!), but don't worry delivery won't be a problem. Someone will be here to get it inside safe. But if it gets here then, I may not be able to do a reveal until after I get back. I will definitely be able to let you know if it arrived safe though, my mom will let me know.


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## meaganola (Jul 27, 2014)

Well, crappity.  The order I thought was going to get here tomorrow isn't even registering in USPS yet.  Fingers crossed that there's movement tomorrow.  *So* ready to know I have everything in-hand!


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## dotybird (Jul 28, 2014)

Will be shipping today! It was actually cheaper to send my box via Priority Mail (in a non-flat rate box) than via parcel post, so it should get to my swap buddy sooner than I thought! Eek! I hope she likes what I picked for her!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 28, 2014)

i dont want to ship because i dont want it to be over  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> but i also have to get my wrapping/make up stuffs out of the way from the rest of our moving stuffs!


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## button6004 (Jul 28, 2014)

Swap buddy, I just have to finish wrapping all of the things and making my little notes.  Then I will be mailing in the next day or two!


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## wadedl (Jul 28, 2014)

I will be mailing in the next couple of days. It's almost all wrapped and I need to write a note.


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## CurlyTails (Jul 28, 2014)

Box is sealed and ready to go! I may not be able to get to PO until this weekend.


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## Dashery (Jul 28, 2014)

My box was supposed to be delivered today. And it says it was delivered....to a house in the town next to me...

It's supposed to be a few states away, USPS!

Am I just reading something wrong?


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## Dashery (Jul 28, 2014)

Dashery said:


> My box was supposed to be delivered today. And it says it was delivered....to a house in the town next to me...
> 
> It's supposed to be a few states away, USPS!
> 
> Am I just reading something wrong?


Haha Okay. I am laughing so hard at myself!

I used the wrong tracking number!  :rotfl:

I've been having an awful day and just grabbed the receipt and was barely even paying attention and used the tracking number for one of my mother's packages. :blush2:  *buries head in sand so that nobody can see my very red cheeks*

But anyway, yay! Package showing up today. I hope my buddy loves it!


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## jayeme (Jul 28, 2014)

I'm at work now so I can briefly use the internet -- just wanted to say, whoever has me, please let me know the tracking or at least when the package is supposed to be delivered, because sometimes the post office leaves things at my apartment office without telling me, or, on one occasion, back to the post office without leaving a notice....


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## LolaJay (Jul 28, 2014)

I went to put my package in the mail - and they wouldn't let me send it priority mail since it contains perfume...WOMP WOMP. I am currently home now trying to repack it into a different box...and I spent so much time yesterday decorating the box. Post Office FAIL!!

The good news is that it should still go out today! I'm exciiiited!


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 28, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> I went to put my package in the mail - and they wouldn't let me send it priority mail since it contains perfume...WOMP WOMP. I am currently home now trying to repack it into a different box...and I spent so much time yesterday decorating the box. Post Office FAIL!!
> 
> The good news is that it should still go out today! I'm exciiiited!


Nooo !! You should've just said no, lady!!


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## rachelshine (Jul 28, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> I went to put my package in the mail - and they wouldn't let me send it priority mail since it contains perfume...WOMP WOMP. I am currently home now trying to repack it into a different box...and I spent so much time yesterday decorating the box. Post Office FAIL!!
> 
> The good news is that it should still go out today! I'm exciiiited!


Next time, just say "nope, no perfume!!" I always do that  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 28, 2014)

My gameplan is to write my card out during my snooze fest of a class this evening. Maybe ship tomorrow??? Maybe not??


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## LolaJay (Jul 28, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Next time, just say "nope, no perfume!!" I always do that  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I just don't want it to explode or anything...it's a decent sized bottle  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Plus they had a new guy working at the PO and he was pretty confused about the rules lol. But the good news is my package is going to cost the same even without Priority Mail!

Sorry buddy, you will just have to wait a couple more days so your pretties don't explode!


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## puppymomofthree (Jul 28, 2014)

I should be shipping at the end of the month--I only get paid once a month--on the last workday of the month, so I always start getting paranoid about an expense I have not planned for at this time of the month (is it just me, or does "time of the month" always seem strange to say?).  I think I should be all set to ship, but I wrapped so much of it a month ago that I have no idea exactly what is in there!


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## Dashery (Jul 28, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> I I think I should be all set to ship, but I wrapped so much of it a month ago that I have no idea exactly what is in there!


I wrapped mine two days ago, and I've already forgotten some of what's in it! It'll be a surprise for everyone, I guess!


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## Bizgirlva (Jul 28, 2014)

Yipes I gotta get on the wrap and ship, it's def going to be later. I'm sorry swap buddy.  I'm an awful person.


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## Christa W (Jul 28, 2014)

I'm anxiously staking the reveal thread for my buddy to post but my pkg doesn't get there til Wednesday. I have to keep telling myself... She's not going to post any sooner!!

Everyone check your boxes on Wed in case you are her. (Its like Oprah... Look under your chair an you might be a winner)


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## marigoldsue (Jul 28, 2014)

Christa W said:


> I'm anxiously staking the reveal thread for my buddy to post but my pkg doesn't get there til Wednesday. I have to keep telling myself... She's not going to post any sooner!!
> 
> Everyone check your boxes on Wed in case you are her. (Its like Oprah... Look under your chair an you might be a winner)


Haha...too ease any anxiety on the part of the buddy shipping my box, I don't get home from work until about 6 pm CST (assuming I don't have to make any stops on the way home).  So whatever day you see that your package is being delivered don't compulsively hit refresh until at least 6:15.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## jennm149 (Jul 28, 2014)

Swap buddy - your package is all ready to go. Unless my husband takes it to the PO for me, I'm planning to send it off Wednesday morning!

Sad this is coming to an end, but so glad that the fun will continue in the slumber party thread! And hey, the only way we get to see the pretties is to send them on their way.


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## jocedun (Jul 28, 2014)

I shipped today!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Ahhh, now I can just sit back, relax, and watch the reveals! So excited.


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## JHP07 (Jul 28, 2014)

My summer swap package arrived (just a few days after my mid-summer swap package, so I'm having a great mail week)! My swap buddy was @DonnaD. Thank you so much, it's absolutely perfect. I'll be heading over to the reveal thread now   :wub:


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## LolaJay (Jul 28, 2014)

SHIPPED!!! Went to a different PO this time and the awesome mustache guy hooked me up.


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## BSquared (Jul 28, 2014)

Dear buddy: I am sorry for my dreadful wrap job (on one item in particular....yikes) and things probably getting slightly smooshed (wrapping not the product) due to size. Hopefully you will understand it's what's on the inside that counts lol


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## LolaJay (Jul 28, 2014)

BY THE WAY - so off topic but I'd just like to say that everyone is looking SO GLAM lately in their profile pics! Makes me want to get all fancy and take a new one!! :glasses:


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## CurlyTails (Jul 28, 2014)

I think I've already forgotten at least half of what's in my box, so if I get asked any tricky questions I can probably say no without feeling guilty!


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## Kelli (Jul 28, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> BY THE WAY - so off topic but I'd just like to say that everyone is looking SO GLAM lately in their profile pics! Makes me want to get all fancy and take a new one!! :glasses:


I've been thinking the same thing!

So, I've now found out that if i use Chrome, instead of IE I can quote/copy/paste/spoilers etc. All my troubles started when I updated to windows 8.1  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> So, even though Chrome bugs me, I guess I will have to remember to use it when I visit MuT. (I saw people on other forums complaining about the exact same issue when the updated, but never saw any resolution). But I am happy I will be able to post a reveal without ripping my hair out in frustration...as long as I don't use IE lol! Woo-hoo!


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## chelsealady (Jul 28, 2014)

Just got notification that my box will ship tomorrow. Must resist the urge to go back thru the thread to see who is shipping tomorrow. Lol

I've had a pretty crappy week last week and today wasn't much better. Till I found out my box is on the way. This week is instantly a 100 times better now.


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## LolaJay (Jul 28, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> Just got notification that my box will ship tomorrow. Must resist the urge to go back thru the thread to see who is shipping tomorrow. Lol
> 
> I've had a pretty crappy week last week and today wasn't much better. Till I found out my box is on the way. This week is instantly a 100 times better now.


Your week might also be better if you watch Sharknado 2 on Wednesday! Or it could just make it way worse, depends on how much you love bad acting and F-list celebrities!

I'm glad your box is coming to you SOOOON! :hugs3:


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## BSquared (Jul 28, 2014)

There's a sharknado 2!?! Well I must say I did not receive news about my box (and my box I'm shipping apparently had my sephora order delivered to the wrong house today...grrrr) but sharknado 2 is ALMOST as exciting!!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Christa W (Jul 28, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> Your week might also be better if you watch Sharknado 2 on Wednesday! Or it could just make it way worse, depends on how much you love bad acting and F-list celebrities!
> 
> I'm glad your box is coming to you SOOOON! :hugs3:


Gah I forgot about Sharknado 2!!! Thanks for the reminder.


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## LolaJay (Jul 28, 2014)

bsquared said:


> There's a sharknado 2!?! Well I must say I did not receive news about my box (and my sephora order got delivered to the wrong house today...grrrr) but sharknado 2 is ALMOST as exciting!!!


Ummm YES!! On Wednesday!! It's called "Sharknado 2: The Second One" LOLZ

If you haven't watched any of the amazing (and I use that term loosely) SyFy movies lately, you just have to witness one for yourself. I watched one once about giant snakes and alligators and it starred Debby Gibson and Tiffany! You know, the singers from the 80's! Oh my gosh I don't know why I find these things incredibly hilarious but I do!


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## chelsealady (Jul 28, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> Your week might also be better if you watch Sharknado 2 on Wednesday! Or it could just make it way worse, depends on how much you love bad acting and F-list celebrities!
> 
> I'm glad your box is coming to you SOOOON! :hugs3:



I love bad acting and F-list celebrities. Tremors is one of my all time favorite movies. Sharknado might be just what the doctor ordered.


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## Dashery (Jul 28, 2014)

Haha @@LolaJay I have a feeling you would get along great with Obscurus Lupa! She's one of my favorite movie reviewers. She always reviews these cheesy, b-rate films, but unlike a lot of critics, she actually really loves them.


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## emilylithium (Jul 29, 2014)

It's been so exciting to read all the reveals! I just want to share with you guys the situation that I am in that will most likely make me ship and do the reveals a little bit late. (already informed the roadies, but thought i might share my struggles with you guys) Anyways, I just graduated in June and was originally going to start a job in early July. Had everything set up and began some crazy online shopping and shipping to my new apartment. But since I had a bit of a break between june and july, I went back home to Canada, and have been stuck in Canada since then due to problem with work authorization. I applied way back in early May, and it is not supposed to take this long! It is so frustrating because I feel bad because when I signed up for summerswap I did not anticipate this problem. plus I missed out on a whole month's work/ salary and wasted a month of rent. 

Good news though, I just heard back today, and I will receive my work authorization card next week! yay! Currently planning to go back to the States next weekend. I feel so bad because I have to ship a couple of days late and do the reveals late. i hope my swap buddies understand and don't miss all the fun! I promise will do everything as quick as I can once I can physically get back to the country.


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## cobainrls (Jul 29, 2014)

emilylithium said:


> It's been so exciting to read all the reveals! I just want to share with you guys the situation that I am in that will most likely make me ship and do the reveals a little bit late. (already informed the roadies, but thought i might share my struggles with you guys) Anyways, I just graduated in June and was originally going to start a job in early July. Had everything set up and began some crazy online shopping and shipping to my new apartment. But since I had a bit of a break between june and july, I went back home to Canada, and have been stuck in Canada since then due to problem with work authorization. I applied way back in early May, and it is not supposed to take this long! It is so frustrating because I feel bad because when I signed up for summerswap I did not anticipate this problem. plus I missed out on a whole month's work/ salary and wasted a month of rent.
> 
> Good news though, I just heard back today, and I will receive my work authorization card next week! yay! Currently planning to go back to the States next weekend. I feel so bad because I have to ship a couple of days late and do the reveals late. i hope my swap buddies understand and don't miss all the fun! I promise will do everything as quick as I can once I can physically get back to the country.


man..sounds like a pain! I am glad you are getting your card though. If I am your buddy..don't worry..I understand. i can't think of anyone on here who would be upset. Besides..maybe it is the best for last??!!


----------



## emilylithium (Jul 29, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> man..sounds like a pain! I am glad you are getting your card though. If I am your buddy..don't worry..I understand. i can't think of anyone on here who would be upset. Besides..maybe it is the best for last??!!


thanks for the understanding! haha, won't spoil the secret   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## sstich79 (Jul 29, 2014)

emilylithium said:


> It's been so exciting to read all the reveals! I just want to share with you guys the situation that I am in that will most likely make me ship and do the reveals a little bit late. (already informed the roadies, but thought i might share my struggles with you guys) Anyways, I just graduated in June and was originally going to start a job in early July. Had everything set up and began some crazy online shopping and shipping to my new apartment. But since I had a bit of a break between june and july, I went back home to Canada, and have been stuck in Canada since then due to problem with work authorization. I applied way back in early May, and it is not supposed to take this long! It is so frustrating because I feel bad because when I signed up for summerswap I did not anticipate this problem. plus I missed out on a whole month's work/ salary and wasted a month of rent.
> 
> Good news though, I just heard back today, and I will receive my work authorization card next week! yay! Currently planning to go back to the States next weekend. I feel so bad because I have to ship a couple of days late and do the reveals late. i hope my swap buddies understand and don't miss all the fun! I promise will do everything as quick as I can once I can physically get back to the country.


Ugh, how rude of you to put your real-life problems ahead of a makeup exchange!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Seriously, though, I'm glad you're getting your situation straightened out... sounds like a nightmare.



LolaJay said:


> Ummm YES!! On Wednesday!! It's called "Sharknado 2: The Second One" LOLZ
> 
> If you haven't watched any of the amazing (and I use that term loosely) SyFy movies lately, you just have to witness one for yourself. I watched one once about giant snakes and alligators and it starred Debby Gibson and Tiffany! You know, the singers from the 80's! Oh my gosh I don't know why I find these things incredibly hilarious but I do!


@@LolaJay, I love those awesomely awful movies too! My favorite is called "Aztec Rex" and stars Ian Ziering from original-recipe "90210" as conquistador Hernan Cortes, who apparently stumbled into a Mexican valley that inexplicably still housed tyrannosaurs before he got around to conquering the Aztec empire. Seriously, it's MUST WATCH.


----------



## SaraP (Jul 29, 2014)

Favorite "Bad" movie???

I love Cabin Boy  :blush:


----------



## wadedl (Jul 29, 2014)

Sharknado 2 was very visible outside comic con. They were handing out foam chain saws and little megaphones on beads to wear. Damn you Sharknado guy that would not give my kids chain saw!


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 29, 2014)

@@emilylithium  I'm so glad that things are getting straightened out!  That must have been really stressful.  Hoping everything goes smoothly from here on out!!!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 29, 2014)

Ladies,

Warning, whining ahead!

I am beginning to think the universe has it in for me. First I injure my back falling down my front steps, and then this happened yesterday! Slipped in bedroom doing the overly dangerous activity of changing a DVD and my foot went under a bookshelf. Grr! Need a bubble to live in!

Ok, it is out of my system. I am going to snuggle up with a certain afghan and watch rediculus Gossip Girl repeats (I will belly crawl to change the disks just to make sure not to tempt fate).


----------



## valeried44 (Jul 29, 2014)

@@puppymomofthree  Oh my gosh!  You need this....




I was thinking bubble wrap suit, but this is so much prettier!


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 29, 2014)

@@puppymomofthree oh my gosh girl, be carefulllll!!!! ldlad:

Love the bubblewrap gown!  Everyone send your bubblewrap stashes to puppymomofthree!

I think all this means you are slated to win the lottery soon.  Better pick up some scratch offs and enter some contests while your recovering!


----------



## SaraP (Jul 29, 2014)

Right! After all this bad luck, there must be some really good things about to happen!  :hugs3:


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 29, 2014)

Ah!!! Now everything makes sense!!!

Right now I am wishing I could magically turn one of my stash items into some TP--apparently that is what I really need a stash of!

For all of our lusting after the newest cool products, what we all really need is some charmin and lots and lots of bubble wrap!!


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 29, 2014)

MUT is going super slow for me for some reason, so I won't go back and quote, but yay for work authorization and boo for hurt feet!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 29, 2014)

curlytails said:


> MUT is going super slow for me for some reason, so I won't go back and quote, but yay for work authorization and boo for hurt feet!


yeah, its been lagging all day! but it *just* picked up again for me, right before i have to head to class!

I think I'll ship tomorrow??? I'm not sure. I dont want it to end  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 29, 2014)

I'm hoping to ship tomorrow. Although, I've been saying that since Monday.


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 29, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Ugh, how rude of you to put your real-life problems ahead of a makeup exchange!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Seriously, though, I'm glad you're getting your situation straightened out... sounds like a nightmare.
> 
> @@LolaJay, I love those awesomely awful movies too! My favorite is called "Aztec Rex" and stars Ian Ziering from original-recipe "90210" as conquistador Hernan Cortes, who apparently stumbled into a Mexican valley that inexplicably still housed tyrannosaurs before he got around to conquering the Aztec empire. Seriously, it's MUST WATCH.


OH MY GOSH - I have to look that one up! It sounds craptastic!!! LOL


----------



## SaraP (Jul 29, 2014)

Oh so sad that there are no reveals today  :scared: but I did get my first ever Birchbox and I'm supper happy that it fits in my mailbox!! Less times a week my mailman has to walk to my door the better  :blush:

*also the items in the box, although small (like super small) are all usable!!


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 30, 2014)

Crossing my fingers for some reveals today.  Someone SHOULD get one today right?  I'm hoping a few people mailed their packages priority on Monday. . . so HOPEFULLY we'll get at least one today.    I'm just itching to see reveals.  I love seeing what everybody gets.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 30, 2014)

I got a message from a roadie that a package is on it's way to me! I 'm so excited!!!


----------



## Christa W (Jul 30, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Crossing my fingers for some reveals today. Someone SHOULD get one today right? I'm hoping a few people mailed their packages priority on Monday. . . so HOPEFULLY we'll get at least one today.  I'm just itching to see reveals. I love seeing what everybody gets.


My buddy should get a package today.


----------



## Dashery (Jul 30, 2014)

I got tracking from a roadie. It shows my package arriving today! It'll be a busy mail day for me. I also have Joann's packages showing up. Wohoo!


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 30, 2014)

Ok, picked up my packing supplies finally and I'll start the wrapping tonight!  Have to wait to mail til Saturday though because I'm not taking that big box on the bus haha.  Most PO has such crappy hours and no 24 hour drop offs anywhere near me.


----------



## meaganola (Jul 30, 2014)

Oh, yay, my last order is finally updating in USPS, and it's supposed to be delivered today! I might even go ahead and do the wrap'n'pack thing today! Or maybe just the wrapping part. I need a new box. I have dozens of boxes, but I want to send this stuff in a flat-rate medium Priority box, and I don't have any of those without old shipping stuff and (more importantly) kitty bites all over the place.


----------



## jesemiaud (Jul 30, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Oh, yay, my last order is finally updating in USPS, and it's supposed to be delivered today! I might even go ahead and do the wrap'n'pack thing today! Or maybe just the wrapping part. I need a new box. I have dozens of boxes, but I want to send this stuff in a flat-rate medium Priority box, and I don't have any of those without old shipping stuff and (more importantly) kitty bites all over the place.


Oh, I don't know...I kind of think kitty bites would be rather endearing! I'm just hoping to not send a random hairball or dust bunny to my girl.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## jayeme (Jul 30, 2014)

Hi everyone! I just have a message for whatever lovely person is getting ready to send me a gift:

I definitely need tracking, as I said before, because sometimes things get delivered to my apartment office or taken back to the P.O. without a notice being left. I also want to let you know that I will be out of town for a funeral Friday-Sunday as my great-aunt passed away. It's fine if something is delivered in that time, as it should be left at my apartment office, but I won't be able to get it until Monday afternoon. (So just let me know if it should be there waiting.) 

Thanks!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 30, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Hi everyone! I just have a message for whatever lovely person is getting ready to send me a gift:
> 
> I definitely need tracking, as I said before, because sometimes things get delivered to my apartment office or taken back to the P.O. without a notice being left. I also want to let you know that I will be out of town for a funeral Friday-Sunday as my great-aunt passed away. It's fine if something is delivered in that time, as it should be left at my apartment office, but I won't be able to get it until Monday afternoon. (So just let me know if it should be there waiting.)
> 
> Thanks!


I'm going to echo this! My mailman just leaves slips that it's at the PO. If you're planning on shipping toward the end of next week, just let a roadie know and I'll give you my new address  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## lastnite629 (Jul 30, 2014)

Just a heads up to my buddy.  My original plan was to ship today, but now it may be Thursday or Friday. Woke up Monday morning to a big wet mess all over my laundry room floor. Our water heater decided to start leaking! UGH!!!!At least I caught it before it got really, really bad.  We had to buy a new water heater and now I'm waiting for the plumber to show up.  Hopefully, They can come and install today so my life can go back to normal. This is 2 weeks in a row we've had to have a plumber come to the house.    

I feel bad about making my buddy wait.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## cobainrls (Jul 30, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> Just a heads up to my buddy.  My original plan was to ship today, but now it may be Thursday or Friday. Woke up Monday morning to a big wet mess all over my laundry room floor. Our water heater decided to start leaking! UGH!!!!At least I caught it before it got really, really bad.  We had to buy a new water heater and now I'm waiting for the plumber to show up.  Hopefully, They can come and install today so my life can go back to normal. This is 2 weeks in a row we've had to have a plumber come to the house.
> 
> I feel bad about making my buddy wait.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


What a mess! I am so sorry! This has happened to me as well. I woke up one morning and was like why is my floor in the hall wet..go into the bathroom..why is the floor in the bathroom wet? come to find out the waterheater has exploded. It was such a mess! About a year ago in the house I live in now. About 2 am you hear bam! Then the laundry room and kitchen is flooded. Yup..again the tank exploded. It was a huge mess! So, I saw take your time.


----------



## jocedun (Jul 30, 2014)

I'm hoping my buddy sends me tracking just to satiate my curiosity.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Then again, if I had a therapist, they would probably encourage me to be okay with the unknown. But seriously, I have a really reliable building with an organized mail room, so if they decide to ship parcel post without tracking, I won't be worried.

But I am dying of curiosity.


----------



## msambrosia (Jul 30, 2014)

I finally got everything wrapped and packed up. I just need to write a note. I'll be shipping out tomorrow!


----------



## Christa W (Jul 30, 2014)

I'm getting nervous the closer it is to reveal time. You guys set the bar pretty high. I'm freaking out!!! I'm sure it's going I be awesome I'm just so anxious!!


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 30, 2014)

I've been told my box is on its way!!!!

Also, my 9.5-pound box will be delivered on Friday to my swapee.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 30, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> I've been told my box is on its way!!!!
> 
> Also, my *9.5-pound* box will be delivered on Friday to my swapee.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Wowzers!!  Some awesome reveals are coming!


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 30, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> I've been told my box is on its way!!!!
> 
> Also, my 9.5-pound box will be delivered on Friday to my swapee.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Holy Cow!! What's in that box????? Can't wait to see that reveal!


----------



## BSquared (Jul 30, 2014)

BIG OLD shoutout to my neighbor...I was waiting on my last gift, UPS showed it delivered...I had no box. He brought it over to my house instead of stealing it!!

That being said...someone officially has a present on the way  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Whooooo will it be?


----------



## trekkersangel (Jul 30, 2014)

Anyone else in mailman stalking mode? I can just see all the poor mail people across the US, handing us crazy ladies their packages. My guy is still scared of me from the fairy swap! Ha ha ha.

My mail comes between 2-3. Any time now. How about you guys? Are you stalking? When does your mail come?


----------



## Dashery (Jul 30, 2014)

My mailman already came by, but my tracking still shows it arriving today. So I wonder how it's getting here. It just left PA this morning. We'll see! I can't wait!


----------



## Christa W (Jul 30, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Anyone else in mailman stalking mode? I can just see all the poor mail people across the US, handing us crazy ladies their packages. My guy is still scared of me from the fairy swap! Ha ha ha.
> 
> My mail comes between 2-3. Any time now. How about you guys? Are you stalking? When does your mail come?


I work at home and my office desk faces my large window. The truck has to come right past the window so typically every day I keep my eye out whenever I see anyone slowing down.  I actually stared at her to assess what she was dropping in the box to see if it was the pkg a Roadie told me was on the way (only yesterday so I might be jumping the gun).... but at least I can totally stalk from a second story window where nobody can actually SEE me do the stalking.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 30, 2014)

I don't get home from work until about 7 typically, so I can only fantasize about the mailman delivering a beautiful box of pretties for me to come home to!


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 30, 2014)

Christa W said:


> I work at home and my office desk faces my large window. The truck has to come right past the window so typically every day I keep my eye out whenever I see anyone slowing down.  I actually stared at her to assess what she was dropping in the box to see if it was the pkg a Roadie told me was on the way (only yesterday so I might be jumping the gun).... but at least I can totally stalk from a second story window where nobody can actually SEE me do the stalking.


My front windows are tinted, so I could stalk at my leisure. Last week I saw the mailman stop in front of my house for awhile and he appeared to be text messaging! I was glad that I wasn't waiting on a package that day. I would have been so irritated!


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 30, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Anyone else in mailman stalking mode? I can just see all the poor mail people across the US, handing us crazy ladies their packages. My guy is still scared of me from the fairy swap! Ha ha ha.
> 
> My mail comes between 2-3. Any time now. How about you guys? Are you stalking? When does your mail come?


I've been getting home at like 8pm for the last week and I've been so exhausted when I get home I forget about the mail.  Plus stupid no buy and end of the month means there is nothing fun in there anyway &lt;_&lt; , though I did get an ikea catalog yesterday (love those!).  My mail usually comes so late anyway.

Also, ok OT but really does the American Apparel ad on the page _have_ to have men in speedo underwear???  Um better switch to looking from my phone in case someone walks in my office and wonders what the heck I am looking at!


----------



## Christa W (Jul 30, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> I've been getting home at like 8pm for the last week and I've been so exhausted when I get home I forget about the mail. Plus stupid no buy and end of the month means there is nothing fun in there anyway &lt;_&lt; , though I did get an ikea catalog yesterday (love those!). My mail usually comes so late anyway.
> 
> Also, ok OT but really does the American Apparel ad on the page _have_ to have men in speedo underwear??? Um better switch to looking from my phone in case someone walks in my office and wonders what the heck I am looking at!


I'm on a no buy too which makes my Ipsy and Rainbow Honey subs so important not to mention this swap. I still stalk the mailbox constantly its part of my OCD. Even I I know nothing might be in it I'm still compelled to look inside. I also hate leaving anything in there it drives me nuts.


----------



## rachelshine (Jul 30, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> Crossing my fingers for some reveals today.  Someone SHOULD get one today right?  I'm hoping a few people mailed their packages priority on Monday. . . so HOPEFULLY we'll get at least one today.    I'm just itching to see reveals.  I love seeing what everybody gets.


I hope so!! I sent mine early as I have some family things happening and wanted to make sure I didn't fall behind on shipping. Hopefully she reveals soon, can't wait to see her reaction!! 



lastnite629 said:


> Just a heads up to my buddy.  My original plan was to ship today, but now it may be Thursday or Friday. Woke up Monday morning to a big wet mess all over my laundry room floor. Our water heater decided to start leaking! UGH!!!!At least I caught it before it got really, really bad.  We had to buy a new water heater and now I'm waiting for the plumber to show up.  Hopefully, They can come and install today so my life can go back to normal. This is 2 weeks in a row we've had to have a plumber come to the house.
> 
> I feel bad about making my buddy wait.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Ohhh no &lt;3 &lt;3 So sorry you're having this bad luck. Don't worry about late shipping, you're making the reveals last longer  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 



ashleylind said:


> I've been told my box is on its way!!!!
> 
> Also, my 9.5-pound box will be delivered on Friday to my swapee.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


ZOMG, 9.5 pounds!!!! 

I don't know if I want to be notified or not!! I kind of like stalking my mailman and pouncing at the door.


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 30, 2014)

i'm waiting for the ups man to deliver an urban decay order and i'm stalking my mail man just because..yanno because. i really want to shower and/or get focused on my homework but i cant!


----------



## meaganola (Jul 30, 2014)

I had an embarrassing non-stalking incident with the mailman a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't expecting anything, so he was a surprise. I *was* sitting on my messy couch in my pjs with a kitty sitting upright on my lap. You can see directly into my living room when you come up my stairs, so he got to see a half-caffeinated cat lady in her natural habitat. The mailman and I were both rather startled. I don't think it would have been as embarrassing if the cat hadn't been sitting upright. (And he's very skittish, so my rule is that if he's on my lap, I just let him stay there until *he* decides to move.)


----------



## Bizgirlva (Jul 30, 2014)

I'm not stalking, mostly because I'm not home! But I also assume my swap buddy is a late shipper like me.  I finally got box, I just need to wrap/pack oh and drop it off! My goal is to get it out Saturday.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 30, 2014)

Word from home is that my package may have arrived!!!


----------



## lastnite629 (Jul 30, 2014)

Water heater installed!  So happy to have hot water again. No more stinky husband! j/k!

My mailman usually comes around between 12-1.  He walks the route.  I know he's about to come to my house when I hear the neighbor's dog barking. haha


----------



## wadedl (Jul 30, 2014)

Our mail man is currently testing new more effiecient ways to do his route. Got a little postcard about some tests they are doing. He has been working this route since as long as I can remember. At least the mail has been earlier than the normal after 3 before they made him change it up. 

I am on a husband imposed no buy, I got a new Lancome Blush and other goodies from testing Mascaras from Loreal the other day and he was like another, do you need more. Men don't understand we need all the preciouses! I feel like Gollum! I want the *Givenchy Les Mini Prismes *but none of the stores in the area carry it and I don't want to pay for shipping and if I pay cash he would never have to know! (insert maniacal laugh)

Almost ready to go! It's all over once its gone! Its been fun. I will send it tomorrow.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 30, 2014)

What beautiful wrapping!


----------



## meaganola (Jul 30, 2014)

It makes me want to go dig out my nail polish top coat that has butterflies!


----------



## Kelli (Jul 30, 2014)

love the wrapping @@wadedl


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 30, 2014)

My mail is so erratic, it can arrive anytime between 2-5, and I have had those days where I've walked down there only to find it's not there yet like 3 times in one day. So, it's safe to say I wait now until I know for sure it's there. Usually by checking any tracking I have arriving that day. I always like when I'm expecting a small thing, and the lock box is full of stuff for me! Those are always fun days   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Kelli (Jul 30, 2014)

My mail comes pretty early, like 9:30-10:30 which is nice! Also, I can see out the front door on my way downstairs to see if there is a package on the porch!


----------



## SaraP (Jul 30, 2014)

Ugh I just sealed the box and then found 3 things I forgot to put inside! Hope I can reopen it without messing it up...

*My postman comes around 3ish

*also to my buddy- Sorry but your wrap isn;t near as cute as @wadedl's!


----------



## bonita22 (Jul 30, 2014)

My mailman never comes by at the same time. Lately he's been delivering my mail as early as 11:00am and as late as 5:00pm.

I mailed out my buddy's gift, I hope she gets it soon and that she loves it.


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 30, 2014)

Unless I am told to expect a package, my mail can wait for up to a week--I check my PO box only when I know I have a package arriving or need to mail something out--at least one of which happens each week. Otherwise, poor packages sit around waiting to be loved! Truly sad! I get a few things delivered to my house via UPS etc, but I don't trust our mail carriers--more than once there have been local carriers found to be stealing packages--my PO box is by my office on a government campus and is super safe, small, and nice, so it is worth the small fee.


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 30, 2014)

It's here, it's here!!!!!! My Swap Buddy is the beautiful @@bonita22! I just got home and I have to go to the gym (starting my half marathon training today!) but I will tear into that bad boy as soon as I get back. It will be great to have something to look forward to after my workout!

Stay tuned!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 30, 2014)

curlytails said:


> It's here, it's here!!!!!! My Swap Buddy is the beautiful @@bonita22! I just got home and I have to go to the gym (starting my half marathon training today!) but I will tear into that bad boy as soon as I get back. It will be great to have something to look forward to after my workout!
> 
> Stay tuned!


wow! half marathon training AND not opening the gift as soon as you see it? dang girl, you've got serious skills


----------



## Kelli (Jul 30, 2014)

curlytails said:


> It's here, it's here!!!!!! My Swap Buddy is the beautiful @@bonita22! I just got home and I have to go to the gym (starting my half marathon training today!) but I will tear into that bad boy as soon as I get back. It will be great to have something to look forward to after my workout!
> 
> Stay tuned!


That is some great motivation for your training tonight! A fun reward for your hard work waiting for you at home!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 30, 2014)

ajskjf;iawjeiofjaijsdkjnzk.

i meant to ship today but i didn't. ugggh. i also accidentally took a 3 hour nap. i also ate a ton of pasta before and after the nap.

can we just confirm that i'm having a super extra lazy day?


----------



## bonita22 (Jul 30, 2014)

curlytails said:


> It's here, it's here!!!!!! My Swap Buddy is the beautiful @@bonita22! I just got home and I have to go to the gym (starting my half marathon training today!) but I will tear into that bad boy as soon as I get back. It will be great to have something to look forward to after my workout!
> 
> Stay tuned!


I'm so glad you got it! I can't wait for you to open it! I hope you love everything!

Good luck with your half marathon training!


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 30, 2014)

Yay I was productive! Someone is getting a party in a box!


----------



## SaraP (Jul 30, 2014)

SO creative!


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 30, 2014)

My box should be going out tomorrow!  Dear Swap Buddy, my username is in the card inside the box.


----------



## chelsealady (Jul 30, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> Your week might also be better if you watch Sharknado 2 on Wednesday! Or it could just make it way worse, depends on how much you love bad acting and F-list celebrities!
> 
> I'm glad your box is coming to you SOOOON! :hugs3:


I want to thank you for this suggestion. I have snickered, snorted and laughed thru this whole thing.


----------



## Christa W (Jul 30, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> I want to thank you for this suggestion. I have snickered, snorted and laughed thru this whole thing.


I'm sitting here watching reveals, eating Bryers mint chocolate chip ice cream, watching Sharknado 2 and deciding what to paint my nails.  Life doesn't get much better than this. 

Edit: Oh and with my cats no less.


----------



## BSquared (Jul 30, 2014)

Sharknado 2 was literally the best thing I've seen in at least 6 months.


----------



## meaganola (Jul 30, 2014)

Christa W said:


> I'm sitting here watching reveals, eating Bryers mint chocolate chip ice cream, watching Sharknado 2 and deciding what to paint my nails.  Life doesn't get much better than this.
> 
> Edit: Oh and with my cats no less.


I don't have Sharknado 2, but I have S3B of Teen Wolf, newly sparkly-butterflied nails (these could blind someone if direct sunlight hits the glitter!), cold water, and kitties, and I'm working on a proposal for something I'm not sure will see the light of day but will be super fun if it works out!  It's still *way* too warm in my living room, though.  90 degrees.  Which is...  Only two degrees warmer than it is outside.  Ugh.  I hate this crap.  I've dug out my GCC Auryn collection to wear the rest of the week since I had planned on wearing it for a good chunk of the summer when I ordered it but have barely worn it *at all*.  For Reasons, this is a good time to start.


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 30, 2014)

Sharknado 2 was definitely worth the wait!! Glad you enjoyed it @@chelsealady!!


----------



## Kelli (Jul 30, 2014)

I think my box looks like a 5 year decorated it LOL.


----------



## marigoldsue (Jul 31, 2014)

Jealous of all of you enjoying yourselves tonight.  I have been balancing misbehaving dogs with a man friend in severe pain (old sports injuries always wrecking havoc with his life) and a dining room table full of swap gifts that need to be wrapped.  As I head to bed, I am discourage because I am still not done wrapping, my dining room table is a mess and I have no idea what I am going to do about shipping because I have confirmed my suspicion that a large flat rate box will just not hold it all.


----------



## Christa W (Jul 31, 2014)

OK Ladies... Here's what I decided to do...

Sharknado 2 nails.  I used some new Maybelline Color Tattoo nail tattoos I got at Dollar Tree today for the New York City skyline and some shark stamping from Winstonia stamping plates.  I tried to make the sky look dark and stormy with a saran wrap but realized it makes the sharks harder to see.  Sorry!!! 

You can kind of see the pointer has a shark falling from the sky and the pinkie had a shark coming from the side.  I sort of put the building into it LOL.  I ended up also using a decal of the Brooklyn bridge on the thumb with the big shark but it went a little off and doesn't look right so I didn't post it. 











Nails without the decals were also without a top coat.  I promise that shark looked way better after.


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 31, 2014)

@christaW OMG WANT. THOSE NAILS ARE AWESOME. i dont even have cable/watch sharkweek but wow!!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Jul 31, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Yay I was productive! Someone is getting a party in a box!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh please tell me you put the gifts in the balloons and you have to pop them to get them out?!?


----------



## meaganola (Jul 31, 2014)

@@Christa W  Those are *awesome*!  I have zero artistic abilities, so I'm cheating and planning on breaking these out in a week and a half for the official start of Shark Week:

http://www.goscratchit.com/products/shark-week

I have no cable or even a tv, but I love a good theme.


----------



## emilylithium (Jul 31, 2014)

Christa W said:


> OK Ladies... Here's what I decided to do...
> 
> Sharknado 2 nails.  I used some new Maybelline Color Tattoo nail tattoos I got at Dollar Tree today for the New York City skyline and some shark stamping from Winstonia stamping plates.  I tried to make the sky look dark and stormy with a saran wrap but realized it makes the sharks harder to see.  Sorry!!!
> 
> ...


OMG you are so talented with nail art! I couldn't even paint one single color straight.

These look awesome!!


----------



## Babs28 (Jul 31, 2014)

meaganola said:


> It makes me want to go dig out my nail polish top coat that has butterflies!


You have a nail polish top coat that has butterflies in it?!?!?  Where can I get said top coat?


----------



## meaganola (Jul 31, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> You have a nail polish top coat that has butterflies in it?!?!?  Where can I get said top coat?


http://www.rainbowhoney.com/products/papillon


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 31, 2014)

Those Sharknado nails might be the best thing ever!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 31, 2014)

Adios box!


----------



## Dashery (Jul 31, 2014)

@@Christa W That is the best I've seen in a while.


----------



## Kelli (Jul 31, 2014)

Guys, my package came and it's from the wonderful @@dotybird! Reveal coming as soon as I can get everything unwrapped, photographed and uploaded!! So much pretty purple and teal wrapping *squuueeee*


----------



## puppymomofthree (Jul 31, 2014)

I have my Summer Swap package ready to ship and a super secret ninja package about to be deployed as well!  So much fun!  Off to print labels!  :drive:


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 31, 2014)

Those nails are AWESOME!!!!


----------



## Dashery (Jul 31, 2014)

@@LolaJay Your new profile picture is so pretty! o (^‿^✿)


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 31, 2014)

Yay for more reveals! I have apparently exceeded my like limit for the day, but I like it all!


----------



## rachelshine (Jul 31, 2014)

@@Christa W bowing down at your nail skills. I want you to come over and do mine!!!


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 31, 2014)

Dashery said:


> @@LolaJay Your new profile picture is so pretty! o (^‿^✿)


Awww thank you so much!!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 31, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Adios box!
> 
> 
> 
> image.jpg


omg did you make those flowers???!!!!  Sooo freaking cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also @@Christa W I am in complete amazement at your nails!  That shark is awesome.  I have no idea what sharknado is or what you guys are talking about but those nails are badass!


----------



## jennm149 (Jul 31, 2014)

curlytails said:


> Yay for more reveals! I have apparently exceeded my like limit for the day, but I like it all!


They need to up the "like" rations during swap reveals!!


----------



## Bizgirlva (Jul 31, 2014)

Man the reveals are making me feel like I need rewrap everything to pretty it up.  I've moved in the right direction, I wrapped everything last night and played box tetris.  I need to jot a little note(s), update shipping and drop off the box.  Still aiming to get it out this weekend!


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 31, 2014)

I think my buddy should be getting her box today! Getting excited!


----------



## jocedun (Jul 31, 2014)

I'm getting a little worried! My recipient's gift was delivered yesterday but she hasn't posted yet. :-/ Hope everything made it to the right place. I have a fear of it being delivered to the wrong house or something.


----------



## chelsealady (Jul 31, 2014)

@@BSquared I got my box of awesome today!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!! Thank you!!! I've only opened the card so far and I'm already in love. Be back in a little bit with more exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## meaganola (Jul 31, 2014)

I have been having a PHENOMENALLY cranky day. I think I'm using up the entire West Coast supply. I hate the last business day of the month. Eight hundred little bitty ends to tie up! Double sets of accounts to reconcile because a client got a new bank account! Errors that were made in September and need to be fixed now! I do not have enough snacks and glitter nail polish to make it better! On the very off chance my box is waiting for me when I get home, I will probably be delaying the reveal post until tomorrow just to be in a better frame of mind. I might even have to stop at Walgreens on the way home for some potato chips (read: comfort carbs).


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Jul 31, 2014)

YEEEEEE. im so excited for everything. someone, shake me.


----------



## BSquared (Jul 31, 2014)

chelsealady said:


> @@BSquared I got my box of awesome today!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!! Thank you!!! I've only opened the card so far and I'm already in love. Be back in a little bit with more exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yay I'm glad you go it!! I accidently sent my roadie the incorrect tracking # so I didn't want you to think I faked sending it if she sent it to you lol. Hope you like it and I apologize in advance for the wrapping job!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 31, 2014)

meaganola said:


> I have been having a PHENOMENALLY cranky day. I think I'm using up the entire West Coast supply. I hate the last business day of the month. Eight hundred little bitty ends to tie up! Double sets of accounts to reconcile because a client got a new bank account! Errors that were made in September and need to be fixed now! I do not have enough snacks and glitter nail polish to make it better! On the very off chance my box is waiting for me when I get home, I will probably be delaying the reveal post until tomorrow just to be in a better frame of mind. I might even have to stop at Walgreens on the way home for some potato chips (read: comfort carbs).


I second this.  I freaking hate the end of the month.  Only a brownie and wine can fix the day I'm having!


----------



## CurlyTails (Jul 31, 2014)

@@LolaJay love the new glam photo!


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 31, 2014)

@@Lolo22 brownie and wine party?? Uhggg I want brownies!!


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 31, 2014)

curlytails said:


> @@LolaJay love the new glam photo!


Thank you!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## BSquared (Jul 31, 2014)

@@LolaJay so pretty!! I'm sorry everyone is having a bad day  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I swear the end of the week is always worse than Mondays. My day was meh but then my buddy got her box and now I'm happy!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Lolo22 (Jul 31, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> @@Lolo22 brownie and wine party?? Uhggg I want brownies!!


Yessssss and double yes!! Stupid stupid day. Still working and no end in site. Boyfriend reports that my FCS and VS orders came but I can't play with them and can't have any wine for several hours and by then I will be too tired  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Oww being a grown up hurts  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Dashery (Jul 31, 2014)

I'm glad I'm not the only one having a sucky day. It's in the air, I swear.


----------



## LolaJay (Jul 31, 2014)

My day could have been worse...the good news was that I went in for a root canal and they didn't actually have to do it - it just ended up needing a filling. I did get a battle wound though, dr. accidentally sliced my lip a bit.

Photos below lol



Spoiler






I'm like a small child...I get the gas even when I just go in for a cleaning!!




Battle wound and a half numb face...


WOOOO for dental work!


----------



## cobainrls (Jul 31, 2014)

Out my box went...oh man am I nervous! :drive: :blush2: :scared:


----------



## ashleylind (Jul 31, 2014)

cobainrls said:


> Out my box went...oh man am I nervous! :drive: :blush2: :scared:


I'm with you! I was extra confident until my box shipped. Now it's all nerves and freaking out I wrote down the wrong address (even though I obsessively quadruple-checked it).


----------



## Kelly Silva (Aug 1, 2014)

Ok everything is wrapped, Tetrised, and has a local snack shaped space left! Hopefully I can go to the store tomorrow and find that, and send out on Saturday! I thought I was going out of town tomorrow, but I changed my plans to Monday. But no matter what I will get my box sent out before I leave. I'm just driving to see the bf so I can go whenever, but I ordered something that's really large and I need to take to the bf's so that needs to get here before I leave. It doesn't break my no buy I swear!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 1, 2014)

My boxes went sans snacks--it was either include a bag of makeup/polishes or a snack and since this is MUT, I went for the products.


----------



## meaganola (Aug 1, 2014)

Yowzers, THUNDER AND LIGHTNING this morning!  Too bad it's still warm, *and* I have to go to work now, so I can't just stay home and enjoy the storm.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## ashleylind (Aug 1, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> My boxes went sans snacks--it was either include a bag of makeup/polishes or a snack and since this is MUT, I went for the products.


Mine did as well.


----------



## ashleylind (Aug 1, 2014)

Audrey's eye surgery is done, and she's now in recovery! We get to see her in about 45 minutes, when she wakes up. 

MuT is an amazing waiting-room distraction.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## wadedl (Aug 1, 2014)

Such an eventful end of the week. I had to file sales tax for my business yesterday. Such a procrastinator!

@@ashleylind I hope everything is well with Audrey! Biggest thing my kids have ever had are some fillings and stitches on my daughters brow. The stitches was quite eventful. My son gets me and I run down to find my daughter laying on the floor with blood filling a cut in here eyebrow so we grab a clean towel and head to the doctor. The first office sent us away with everything to do it in a baggy. The two young doctors walked in and out and handed us a baggy telling us the other clinic could better handle it but might not have the necessary supplies. They were freaked out by the hole in my daughters eyebrow. The second clinic the nurse starts saying that she thinks she needs a plastic surgeon and how horrible it is. We had other staff members come in to see the "giant disfiguring gash". Finally the doctor who was going to do the stitches peeks his head in looks over and exclaims, "That's it!" And says he'll be back and tells them what to prepare and tells us if she squirms too much she has to go to the hospital which my daughter does not want to do. After getting numbed up my daughter says how relaxing it is to lay there with the paper covering her face getting the stitches. Her face swelled like crazy for over a week but all the doctors are impressed by the amazing job the doctor did sewing her up. He had to sew muscle and then skin.


----------



## meaganola (Aug 1, 2014)

Oh oh oh! I forgot because mornings are evil: I awoke to roadie mail informing me that my package should be here tomorrow! OH WHAT MYSTERY!


----------



## valeried44 (Aug 1, 2014)

wadedl said:


> Such an eventful end of the week. I had to file sales tax for my business yesterday. Such a procrastinator!
> 
> @@ashleylind I hope everything is well with Audrey! Biggest thing my kids have ever had are some fillings and stitches on my daughters brow. The stitches was quite eventful. My son gets me and I run down to find my daughter laying on the floor with blood filling a cut in here eyebrow so we grab a clean towel and head to the doctor. The first office sent us away with everything to do it in a baggy. The two young doctors walked in and out and handed us a baggy telling us the other clinic could better handle it but might not have the necessary supplies. They were freaked out by the hole in my daughters eyebrow. The second clinic the nurse starts saying that she thinks she needs a plastic surgeon and how horrible it is. We had other staff members come in to see the "giant disfiguring gash". Finally the doctor who was going to do the stitches peeks his head in looks over and exclaims, "That's it!" And says he'll be back and tells them what to prepare and tells us if she squirms too much she has to go to the hospital which my daughter does not want to do. After getting numbed up my daughter says how relaxing it is to lay there with the paper covering her face getting the stitches. Her face swelled like crazy for over a week but all the doctors are impressed by the amazing job the doctor did sewing her up. He had to sew muscle and then skin.


Oh my gosh, that whole thing would have freaked me out!  Doctors who have the equipment, but not the nerve...  Clinic staff making a big deal over her cut...  Thank heavens for the good doctor who sewed her up!


----------



## valeried44 (Aug 1, 2014)

Finally have the package all wrapped up and ready to go!!!  That was so much fun, now I'm trying to think of more people that I can send pretty packages to!


----------



## lastnite629 (Aug 1, 2014)

Sent out my buddies package this morning!  She should have it on Monday! 

So, I know i've mentioned the water heater issues we had this week. Well, I went to do laundry last night and my washing machine has decided it doesn't want to spin.  The lid switch is broken.  I'm glad that that is ALL that is wrong, but sheesh. That's THREE issues in TWO weeks!  Kitchen faucet had to be replaced, water heater had to be replaced and now the washing machine issue. I don't want to be an adult anymore!!!


----------



## tulosai (Aug 1, 2014)

I know I've totally disappeared the past few weeks, but I started packing things up last night and my buddies box will be going out Monday!!! I am so excited for her to get it!!!


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 1, 2014)

tulosai said:


> I know I've totally disappeared the past few weeks, but I started packing things up last night and my buddies box will be going out Monday!!! I am so excited for her to get it!!!


I was just thinking about you this morning and how sparse you have been.  Happy to see your smiling face again!


----------



## CurlyTails (Aug 1, 2014)

So, the box I'm sending out literally weighs as much as I did when I was born. I hope my girl posts a reveal when she gets it because I can't remember what's in there! But I think it's full of good stuff!


----------



## meaganola (Aug 1, 2014)

Whoops, mine won't be going out tomorrow in the morning after all. I just realized I forgot something local! Fortunately, I'm headed to the Portlandiest of Portland neighborhoods tomorrow afternoon, so I'll have *all* of the options there.


----------



## SaraP (Aug 1, 2014)

My gal maybe getting her box tomorrow!! 9lb 6oz of fun!


----------



## ashleylind (Aug 1, 2014)

sarap said:


> My gal maybe getting her box tomorrow!! 9lb 6oz of fun!


I've reached my like quota today, or I'd like this. And you beat me by an ounce!


----------



## SaraP (Aug 1, 2014)

I had to rush and check that my shipping confirmation didn't have the weight and would give me away  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## meaganola (Aug 1, 2014)

sarap said:


> My gal maybe getting her box tomorrow!! 9lb 6oz of fun!


I think that's how much my kitty Edgar weighs!  (Oscar is... larger.)


----------



## SaraP (Aug 1, 2014)

I'm embarrassed to say I had a 18lb cat in college, we rented a 5 bedroom house and had quite a few roommates, who all loved to feed him. By loved, I mean hated to hear him b!tch loudly to eat.


----------



## wadedl (Aug 1, 2014)

My box went out! So do we choose a roadie from the roadies thread to send the tracking?


----------



## ashleylind (Aug 1, 2014)

wadedl said:


> My box went out! So do we choose a roadie from the roadies thread to send the tracking?


You can if you want. Otherwise, you can let the delivery be a surprise.


----------



## CurlyTails (Aug 2, 2014)

I'm excited for more reveals today!


----------



## ashleylind (Aug 2, 2014)

For the Sharknado fans. I saw this and thought of you.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 2, 2014)

Eeek! I know of some packages that should be delivered today!!!! Do I remember what is in them? Not really!!! I will be awaiting the reveals too and going, "oh, right, I remember buying that!"


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## SaraP (Aug 2, 2014)

Out for delivery :w00t: Out for delivery :w00t: OUT FOR DELIVERY!!!!!!


----------



## meaganola (Aug 2, 2014)

I know I received a roadie alert that mine is supposed to arrive today, but the mail carrier came and went without delivering it!  I *did* get my SquareHue Beverly Hills collection and Birchbox/Women's Health refund check (hooray for being able to deposit checks via smartphone app!), so the mailrun wasn't a complete loss!

(And it's possible that it will be coming later.  Our carriers deliver on foot, so I think the smaller stuff comes by in the morning with one carrier, and the larger stuff comes by with a different person.  The package guy and my black kitty typically have staring matches through the window when that happens!  So adorable!)


----------



## SaraP (Aug 2, 2014)

Oh no, my box was delivered, but no one was home and they sent it back to the post office :scared: :scared: :scared:


----------



## wadedl (Aug 2, 2014)

It's here! It's here! It's here! I will upload images from my computer shortly. I can't believe how awese everything is.


----------



## valeried44 (Aug 2, 2014)

sarap said:


> Oh no, my box was delivered, but no one was home and they sent it back to the post office :scared: :scared: :scared:


 /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Oh no!


----------



## LolaJay (Aug 2, 2014)

I just got home from a really busy day and MY BOX IS HERE!!! I had NO CLUE it was coming!! And I am totally dying because I still have no idea who it is from!! So I am about to open and then I will reveal shortly....whoooo IS IT FROM!!! LOL

Oh and it weighs like a BAJILLION pounds! Did someone send me a new cat?? LOL Ok I can wait no longer! See you all in the reveal thread!!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 2, 2014)

Next time we can do a pet exchange! Just kidding--mine are way over the 70lb limit of a flat rate box!


----------



## LolaJay (Aug 2, 2014)

@@puppymomofthree you are a sneaky one!!! I stopped opening about 4 presents in because it's already too much and I can't even believe it.

PUPPYMOMOFTHREE is my buddy and I can't even. THANK YOU!!!! From the bottom of my heart, you are so wonderful!!!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 2, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> @@puppymomofthree you are a sneaky one!!! I stopped opening about 4 presents in because it's already too much and I can't even believe it.
> 
> PUPPYMOMOFTHREE is my buddy and I can't even. THANK YOU!!!! From the bottom of my heart, you are so wonderful!!!


Yea!!!!!!! I am so glad!!!! You deserve to be spoiled!


----------



## LolaJay (Aug 2, 2014)

puppymomofthree said:


> Yea!!!!!!! I am so glad!!!! You deserve to be spoiled!


You are amazing!! I am still so overwhelmed! I took over an hour unwrapping things because I wanted to savor every moment! I also had to stop a few times because I felt the tears coming on. The happiest of happy tears!! There are not enough thank yous on this planet!

OK REVEAL TIME!


----------



## lacylei (Aug 2, 2014)

I sent my package out and now im dying hoping she likes it. I packed it up way ahead of time and procrastinated on writing up a not about the things in it. Then the shipping window started and my daughter got sick and life got crazy.. so I grabbed it and put it in the mail!! I was all proud of myself just for getting it out... now I feel terrible that I didn't include any type of card or even my name.. sigh.. buddy I promise ill pm you about each thing after you post your reveals. I would do it before but le sigh I forgot what all I put in there. praying she like it...


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 2, 2014)

LolaJay said:


> You are amazing!! I am still so overwhelmed! I took over an hour unwrapping things because I wanted to savor every moment! I also had to stop a few times because I felt the tears coming on. The happiest of happy tears!! There are not enough thank yous on this planet!
> 
> OK REVEAL TIME!


The dogs are watching me dance around the house as I yell "She liked it!" At the top of my voice!


----------



## Bizgirlva (Aug 2, 2014)

Getting my box today totally motivated me to get my ass in gear. My box will go out to my buddy Monday.


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 2, 2014)

Does anyone know how many total participants we had?  And has anyone been counting the reveals?  I am feeling way behind since I don't even have all of my wrapping done yet.  I wondered if we are as far into this as it seems.  Or if it just seems that way because all of the reveals have been so AMAZING.  You ladies are hitting it out of the park!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Aug 2, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Does anyone know how many total participants we had?  And has anyone been counting the reveals?  I am feeling way behind since I don't even have all of my wrapping done yet.  I wondered if we are as far into this as it seems.  Or if it just seems that way because all of the reveals have been so AMAZING.  You ladies are hitting it out of the park!


By my rough count we have almost 40 left. Although I don't know the actual count of people involved, just an estimate. I totally didn't write down a list of everyone involved and starting crossing off people who aren't my person...  :bandit:


----------



## meaganola (Aug 2, 2014)

Sad face!  No package for me!  (There was some sort of USPS goof, and it's on the other side of the country, so at least I know that it wasn't misdelivered.)  Oh, well.  I received my August SquareHue box, and this will give me at least two more days of anticipation! 

(And I bought English muffins and jam today for breakfast next week, so I should not be as cranky this week as I was Thursday.  That was just a stunningly horrible day, especially considering the fact that nothing actually went wrong.  I have *no clue* what my problem was if not that bad breakfast decision!)


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 3, 2014)

Who else needs a Bloody Mary this morning? I'm basically dead.


----------



## ashleylind (Aug 3, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> Who else needs a Bloody Mary this morning? I'm basically dead.


Bloody Marys are my all-time favorite! Especially if they have pickles in them! Yum!!!!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 3, 2014)

ashleylind said:


> Bloody Marys are my all-time favorite! Especially if they have pickles in them! Yum!!!!


just...just a pickle?


----------



## valeried44 (Aug 3, 2014)

Now THAT'S a bloody mary!!  I was just thinking about having one and I've got all kinds of goodies for it!  Of course, not quite as much as that one...  just cheese, beef stick, olive, banana pepper, and pickle.  Enjoy your breakfast of champions!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 3, 2014)

valeried44 said:


> Now THAT'S a bloody mary!!  I was just thinking about having one and I've got all kinds of goodies for it!  Of course, not quite as much as that one...  just cheese, beef stick, olive, banana pepper, and pickle.  Enjoy your breakfast of champions!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


hahha. thats an old pic! i'm still waiting for my boyfriend to eventually wake up... i dont even bother ordering food when i get that bloody mary!


----------



## jocedun (Aug 3, 2014)

I've been super busy with Lollapalooza festivities, so I haven't been able to see reveals since Wednesday. So excited to catch up with these threads later in the week!

But the reason I came here today is because my buddy still has not posted their reveal... And their package was supposedly delivered on July 30... 4 or 5 days ago. I don't really know what to do. Anything?


----------



## Babs28 (Aug 3, 2014)

jocedun said:


> But the reason I came here today is because my buddy still has not posted their reveal... And their package was supposedly delivered on July 30... 4 or 5 days ago. I don't really know what to do. Anything?


@@jocedun i sent her a PM to find out what's going on and asked her to post in the reveal thread.


----------



## lastnite629 (Aug 3, 2014)

I'm dead right now due to a trip to the mall. No Bloody Mary for me. Ew! lol   Silly me completely forgot that this is the last weekend before school starts.  Pretty sure everyone was at the mall today. 

I did get 4 pretty bras, 3 candles (For the hubs) and some free eyeshadow from Bare Minerals, though!


----------



## SaraP (Aug 3, 2014)

I joke that I married my husband to get free Bloody Marys, he and both tended bar and he makes an awesome Mary mix. I consider Bloody Marys lunch, yum!


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 3, 2014)

:wizard:     It's Twins     :wizard:​ ​Dear Buddy, I am pleased to announce you should be expecting twins sometime this week.  Sorry, I just couldn't get it all in one box.


----------



## BSquared (Aug 3, 2014)

I haven't gotten any type of shipping notice yet so I'm going to tell my buddy that if you're not shipped yet it might be better to wait. I'm out of town Thursday-Sunday and I don't want stuff to melt or the mailman to send it back when I don't pick it up right away!

PS if you do ship and estimated delivery is past Wednesday, send a roadie my way as a heads up as I'd have my mom come check my mail in that case.


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 3, 2014)

Note to my buddy, if you have not shipped yet, can you please not ship for delivery on Wednesday?  Wednesday is the last night I have with my son before he leaves for college (the other nights he is working or with his Dad).  I want to focus on him Wednesday, but I have no self control and I would NOT be able to let my box sit and wait until Thursday when my son was at work.  Thanks!


----------



## v0ltagekid (Aug 3, 2014)

I sent my buddy her package a few days ago, and it should have arrived by now but she hasn't posted anything  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I'm a little nervous it didn't arrive or something.. she hasn't messaged me either  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

*edit: under no circumstance do I think she's shady, I am just concerned maybe it got lost in the mail or something  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## meaganola (Aug 3, 2014)

Yay, package dropped off at the post office!  Remember:  My name on the package (and it is on the outside of the package, as is the recipient's forumname) means DO NOT OPEN IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT IF YOU VALUE YOUR RETINAS.


----------



## sstich79 (Aug 3, 2014)

meaganola said:


> Yay, package dropped off at the post office!  Remember:  My name on the package (and it is on the outside of the package, as is the recipient's forumname) means DO NOT OPEN IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT IF YOU VALUE YOUR RETINAS.


Even if I didn't already know that there's probably all kinds of indie goodness in your package, that warning alone makes it sound completely awesome! :sunshine: :w00t:


----------



## tulosai (Aug 4, 2014)

Okay my person I need you to bear with me one more day.  I literally went from travelling to being super duper sick and haven't been in any shape to wrap things up this weekend or the few days before.  I am going to try to get it out Tuesday my health permitting.  I will try to make it worth your wait!!!


----------



## tgooberbutt (Aug 4, 2014)

@, there seems to be a bloodymary attached to your salad and slider. 

Where was that?! I gotta get me one of those!!


----------



## sstich79 (Aug 4, 2014)

Aw, @@tulosai, hope you get back up to speed ASAP! Side note: whenever I see your profile pic, it makes me smile because it looks like you were having fun... but what exactly are you doing in it?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Kelly Silva (Aug 4, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Aw, @@tulosai, hope you get back up to speed ASAP! Side note: whenever I see your profile pic, it makes me smile because it looks like you were having fun... but what exactly are you doing in it?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I always picture ice skating. I have no idea why. Something about the white background.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## sstich79 (Aug 4, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I always picture ice skating. I have no idea why. Something about the white background.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


@@Kelly Silva, ME TOO! That's so funny.


----------



## SaraP (Aug 4, 2014)

@@Kelly Silva I thought the same thing.


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 4, 2014)

tulosai said:


> Okay my person I need you to bear with me one more day. I literally went from travelling to being super duper sick and haven't been in any shape to wrap things up this weekend or the few days before. I am going to try to get it out Tuesday my health permitting. I will try to make it worth your wait!!!


I hope you feel better very soon! I am sure your buddy will understand.


----------



## Babs28 (Aug 4, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I always picture ice skating. I have no idea why. Something about the white background.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I think the same exact think too!  I always think she is ice skating!!


----------



## dancersmum (Aug 4, 2014)

@@Babs28 - wishing you a stupendous birthday!  Hope that the year will be full of sunshine &amp; happiness.   :hugs3:

Thanks for bringing rainbows &amp; unicorns into our lives via summerswap!


----------



## Babs28 (Aug 4, 2014)

v0ltagekid said:


> I sent my buddy her package a few days ago, and it should have arrived by now but she hasn't posted anything  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I'm a little nervous it didn't arrive or something.. she hasn't messaged me either  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I'll PM your Buddy to see what is going on.


----------



## Babs28 (Aug 4, 2014)

v0ltagekid said:


> I sent my buddy her package a few days ago, and it should have arrived by now but she hasn't posted anything  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I'm a little nervous it didn't arrive or something.. she hasn't messaged me either  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


She did say that she was going away in July.  Also, since she is in CA, I don't know if tracking stops at the border.  I sent her a PM.  I will let you know as soon as I hear back from her unless she posts first.


----------



## Lolo22 (Aug 4, 2014)

I had a lot going on this weekend and didn't get my box to the PO like I planned. It's packed and ready but I still need a card. Feels sad to be almost over!!


----------



## ashleylind (Aug 4, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I always picture ice skating. I have no idea why. Something about the white background.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I picture ice skating as well.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## button6004 (Aug 4, 2014)

So my buddy's 6.15 pound package went out this morning!! YAY!


----------



## v0ltagekid (Aug 4, 2014)

Babs28 said:


> She did say that she was going away in July.  Also, since she is in CA, I don't know if tracking stops at the border.  I sent her a PM.  I will let you know as soon as I hear back from her unless she posts first.


Oh  u didn't have to send her a PM, maybe I overreacted. Hopefully she just hasn't gotten around to posting it or it's somewhere in customs.. who knows  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> hopefully she will get it soon/got it already.


----------



## tulosai (Aug 4, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Aw, @@tulosai, hope you get back up to speed ASAP! Side note: whenever I see your profile pic, it makes me smile because it looks like you were having fun... but what exactly are you doing in it?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />





Kelly Silva said:


> I always picture ice skating. I have no idea why. Something about the white background.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />





sstich79 said:


> @@Kelly Silva, ME TOO! That's so funny.





sarap said:


> @@Kelly Silva I thought the same thing.





puppymomofthree said:


> I hope you feel better very soon! I am sure your buddy will understand.





Babs28 said:


> I think the same exact think too!  I always think she is ice skating!!





ashleylind said:


> I picture ice skating as well.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Thanks for the well wishes about my health.  I am at work now so at least I'm not so sick I need to be home...

And yes! You are all right!! It is ice skating!


----------



## jennm149 (Aug 4, 2014)

@@Babs28 - happy birthday!

@various - thanks for resolving the Mystery of what @@tulosai is doing in that picture!

And to my swap buddy - if you haven't sent my package along, no worries!

Finally, I know something is out for delivery today. Hope it arrives OK!


----------



## Dashery (Aug 4, 2014)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABS!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## jesemiaud (Aug 4, 2014)

Still waiting on one more goodie for my swap buddy. Tracking says it's out for delivery so I will be shipping tomorrow!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 4, 2014)

GUYS GUYS GUYS

OK SO MY PACKAGE IS HERE. well, it was here on friday or saturday but because my loving mailman is paranoid about packages for me, its being held at the PO. I didn't think it would be my summerswap package because i know some of my pen pals are sending me some "going away" packages so getting to the PO wasn't a priority! Oops! Big mistake!

Any way, I'll be heading to the PO as soon as my boyfriend finishes chatting with his boss and i get off my like 1000th conference call of the morning. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 4, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> GUYS GUYS GUYS
> 
> OK SO MY PACKAGE IS HERE. well, it was here on friday or saturday but because my loving mailman is paranoid about packages for me, its being held at the PO. I didn't think it would be my summerswap package because i know some of my pen pals are sending me some "going away" packages so getting to the PO wasn't a priority! Oops! Big mistake!
> 
> Any way, I'll be heading to the PO as soon as my boyfriend finishes chatting with his boss and i get off my like 1000th conference call of the morning. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.


I can't wait to see this one   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 4, 2014)

Holy shit. I didn't realize they made boxes this big. OMG. So excited. I'm going to try to open this in the car!


----------



## trekkersangel (Aug 4, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> image.jpg
> 
> Holy shit. I didn't realize they made boxes this big. OMG. So excited. I'm going to try to open this in the car!


Wahoo!!!!  I hope there's LOTS of reveals today.  I love reveals.


----------



## SaraP (Aug 4, 2014)

I think the stalking, shopping and reveals are so much fun!! But reveals top the list, they just make me happy  :w00t: oh wait...No, the best thing was getting to know all you lovely ladies!


----------



## lastnite629 (Aug 4, 2014)

Just tracked my buddies package. It says it was delivered.  Eee!  Now i'm all nervous.  Hope she likes it.


----------



## Lolo22 (Aug 4, 2014)

Ok buddy, I picked up your macaroons and a card!  Had to get an extra cookie for myself too.  Should be able to get your package out tomorrow  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Aug 4, 2014)

Ooooooh Macaroons! Are you my swap buddy????


----------



## Lolo22 (Aug 4, 2014)

sarap said:


> Ooooooh Macaroons! Are you my swap buddy????


Not telling!!!


----------



## lastnite629 (Aug 4, 2014)

I have never had a macaroon.  I'm pretty sure I need them in my life.


----------



## SaraP (Aug 4, 2014)

Yes! Stop what you're doing and go find one :drive:  !!! They are fantastic  :smilehappyyes:


----------



## Lolo22 (Aug 4, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> I have never had a macaroon.  I'm pretty sure I need them in my life.


I already ate mine!  It was my first one and I need mooooooooore


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 4, 2014)

You ladies have made me hungry and excited!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Aug 4, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> I have never had a macaroon.  I'm pretty sure I need them in my life.


Oh you do. Some recommendations for places to get them in California, Bouchon Bakery in Napa (there's also one in Vegas I believe, and possibly New York?), and Chantal Guillon in Palo Alto. Really most fancy bakeries have them, so you can find them in most cities!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 4, 2014)

Sorry sorry sorry. Boyfriend and I went to lunch and went to anthro and spent way too much money on dresser pulls but SO worth it.


----------



## trekkersangel (Aug 4, 2014)

Mmmmmmm, macaroons! I wish they weren't so hard to find these days. I haven't had a good macaroon in years!!!!


----------



## jennm149 (Aug 4, 2014)

Are we talking coconut macaroons (which are really good) or the french macarons - the meringue puffs with buttercream or jammy filling (also really good)?

Helps to enjoy a treat vicariously if I know what it is!


----------



## trekkersangel (Aug 4, 2014)

I love both!!! But it's been years since I had a colorful puffy guy! Mmmm! Sounds so yummy!


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 4, 2014)

ok you guys can officially kill me. i'm now in the library because i forgot i had a meeting...

OK OK OK. IT WILL BE OPENED SOON.


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 4, 2014)

usofjessamerica said:


> ok you guys can officially kill me. i'm now in the library because i forgot i had a meeting...
> 
> OK OK OK. IT WILL BE OPENED SOON.


You haven't even opened it yet?????  You have way more self control than I do.  The dog could escape from the fence and be running loose in traffic, the house could be on fire, the kid could be in anaphalaptic shock from a bee sting, Publishers Clearing House could be knocking at my door and George Clooney could have just dropped on one knee and pulled out a diamond ring...I'm still opening that box!

(ok, I am kidding on one of them....I would pause for Clooney...no seriously the box would have to wait for the kid, but nothing else)


----------



## Kelli (Aug 4, 2014)

This is the first swap that I have participated in and I feel like I've learned a lot for next time. I feel kind of bad for my buddy this time, since she was kind of my test subject to figure all this out LOL I'm sure she is going to like what she got, but I feel like getting my gift and watching the reveals of a swap that I have been active in have given me so much more insight than watching the reveals from SS last year and Midsummer.

I am already wanting to prepare for SS!

Can't wait to see the rest of the reveals unfold!


----------



## meaganola (Aug 4, 2014)

RHI my box is in town! It may or may not be waiting for me right now! (If not, I do have a Notoriously Morbid order that *does* show as delivered, so at least I have that to look forward to if nothing else!)


----------



## SaraP (Aug 4, 2014)

My buddy was my guinea pig too...notes for next time:

1.Start wrapping early and make it pretty (so soo sooo sorry!)

2.Write a letter as I wrap...and also get a damn card! (I'm super lame)

3.Don't be supper sneaky and blow it at the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all...


----------



## rachelshine (Aug 4, 2014)

Hi ladies, just wanted to pop in real quick and say if I disappear for the next few days/weeks, I have not swaplifted you my dear swapper! 

My sister ended up passing on Saturday night so it's going to be a whirlwind around here. I am still lurking a bit around here as a distraction but seeing as my package is still en route/surprising me, I have no clue yet when I'll be able to reveal it. 

You all have been a great source of laughter and comfort to me the past few months, without even knowing it and I am just thrilled to be in a community full of not just makeup-happy, but loving and supportive ladies.


----------



## SaraP (Aug 4, 2014)

@@rachelshine I'm so sorry.Take care of yourself and your family. Big Hugs.


----------



## trekkersangel (Aug 4, 2014)

Hugs @@rachelshine  We love you!!!!  

:hugs3:


----------



## CurlyTails (Aug 4, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Hi ladies, just wanted to pop in real quick and say if I disappear for the next few days/weeks, I have not swaplifted you my dear swapper!
> 
> My sister ended up passing on Saturday night so it's going to be a whirlwind around here. I am still lurking a bit around here as a distraction but seeing as my package is still en route/surprising me, I have no clue yet when I'll be able to reveal it.
> 
> You all have been a great source of laughter and comfort to me the past few months, without even knowing it and I am just thrilled to be in a community full of not just makeup-happy, but loving and supportive ladies.


I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm happy that this thread can provide you with some distraction.


----------



## lastnite629 (Aug 4, 2014)

@@rachelshine I am so sorry for your loss.  I'll have you &amp; your family in my thoughts.


----------



## valeried44 (Aug 4, 2014)

@rachelshine  So sorry to hear that.  This is definitely the place to be for wonderful and supportive ladies.


----------



## Jac13 (Aug 4, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> You haven't even opened it yet?????  You have way more self control than I do.  The dog could escape from the fence and be running loose in traffic, the house could be on fire, the kid could be in anaphalaptic shock from a bee sting, Publishers Clearing House could be knocking at my door and George Clooney could have just dropped on one knee and pulled out a diamond ring...I'm still opening that box!
> 
> (ok, I am kidding on one of them....I would pause for Clooney...no seriously the box would have to wait for the kid, but nothing else)


Rotfl, you are so crazy!! Love it!


----------



## Jac13 (Aug 4, 2014)

Ok do the macaroon from Sucre' count? If so, love them. I just recently tried them and I was pleasantly surprise. I haven't ventured out to other places but I will.


----------



## Lolo22 (Aug 4, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Hi ladies, just wanted to pop in real quick and say if I disappear for the next few days/weeks, I have not swaplifted you my dear swapper!
> 
> My sister ended up passing on Saturday night so it's going to be a whirlwind around here. I am still lurking a bit around here as a distraction but seeing as my package is still en route/surprising me, I have no clue yet when I'll be able to reveal it.
> 
> You all have been a great source of laughter and comfort to me the past few months, without even knowing it and I am just thrilled to be in a community full of not just makeup-happy, but loving and supportive ladies.


So sorry to hear  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> big hugs to you and your family!!!


----------



## Kelly Silva (Aug 4, 2014)

Ok my local snacks have made their way in the box, although I think you can get some of them anywhere, but I couldn't find anything else. The box is packed, and will go out tomorrow!


----------



## jennm149 (Aug 4, 2014)

@@rachelshine and @@OpheliaDiFranco -- so sorry to hear about your sisters. Thinking of both of you and your families.


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 4, 2014)

ok ok ok ok. i'm going to run my last regression and then i'm going home i swear. please dont hate me everyone. i can't believe i picked this box up before noon and haven't opened it yet. i tried to open it in the car but it was too big to sit on my lap and tear it open at the same time!


----------



## BSquared (Aug 4, 2014)

@@rachelshine I am so sorry. Sending you the biggest of e hugs!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 4, 2014)

Seems like there are many, many hugs flying all across cyberspace today!!! What a truly wonderful thing!


----------



## button6004 (Aug 4, 2014)

lastnite629 said:


> Just tracked my buddies package. It says it was delivered.  Eee!  Now i'm all nervous.  Hope she likes it.


I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!

My phone just died with all of the pictures on it, but as soon as it is charged up (and I have some dinner in my belly- I may or may not have put off cooking to open my box!) I will post the reveal!!

Also, you have made two other little ladies VERY happy indeed   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## chelsealady (Aug 4, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Hi ladies, just wanted to pop in real quick and say if I disappear for the next few days/weeks, I have not swaplifted you my dear swapper!
> 
> My sister ended up passing on Saturday night so it's going to be a whirlwind around here. I am still lurking a bit around here as a distraction but seeing as my package is still en route/surprising me, I have no clue yet when I'll be able to reveal it.
> 
> You all have been a great source of laughter and comfort to me the past few months, without even knowing it and I am just thrilled to be in a community full of not just makeup-happy, but loving and supportive ladies.


Sorry for your loss. Hang in there.


----------



## lastnite629 (Aug 4, 2014)

button6004 said:


> I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!
> 
> My phone just died with all of the pictures on it, but as soon as it is charged up (and I have some dinner in my belly- I may or may not have put off cooking to open my box!) I will post the reveal!!
> 
> Also, you have made two other little ladies VERY happy indeed   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Yay! I'm so glad!!    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## kawaiisofoxy (Aug 4, 2014)

@@rachelshine huge hugs and comfort and all of the things I wish I could send you over the internet (cup of tea, big fuzzy blanket, maybe some ice cream?).  I'm so sorry for your loss   :hugs3:


----------



## kawaiiwoofs (Aug 4, 2014)

To the reveals!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 4, 2014)

I am starting to get ancey about my package!!! Come to me lovely box of goodness!!!! I know I may still have a while to wait, but I may have reached the limit of my patience!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Lolo22 (Aug 4, 2014)

I'm totally fine if my box doesn't come til next week. It would be so fun if it came on my actual birthday (Monday!)!!


----------



## trekkersangel (Aug 4, 2014)

I think my swap buddy knows this already, but just in case she doesn't, I'm taking a much needed family vacation next week (Monday - Saturday) with my sweetheart &amp; my 6 littles. The hubs leaves again September 1st for more training (gotta love being a military spouse) so this is our last family hoo-rah for a while. I'm super excited (for the trip, not for the training)!

So if my fabulous box of magical goodies comes next week, I have my sweetheart of a neighbor collecting my mail for me &amp; I will do my epic reveal with a thousand photos as soon as I get back next Sunday. 

I'm loving watching everyone else's reveals! You ladies are so clever &amp; fun! I have so many ideas for secret Santa!!!!!!


----------



## meaganola (Aug 4, 2014)

Eee!  @Kelli  I got a box!  I have to take the garbage cans out to the curb (you would think that one of the guys who live in the downstairs apartment would take it out occasionally, but, no, it's me, EVERY SINGLE WEEK) and take a shower before I can open everything because I can already tell it's going to be a EXTRAVAGANZA!


----------



## jesemiaud (Aug 4, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Hi ladies, just wanted to pop in real quick and say if I disappear for the next few days/weeks, I have not swaplifted you my dear swapper!
> 
> My sister ended up passing on Saturday night so it's going to be a whirlwind around here. I am still lurking a bit around here as a distraction but seeing as my package is still en route/surprising me, I have no clue yet when I'll be able to reveal it.
> 
> You all have been a great source of laughter and comfort to me the past few months, without even knowing it and I am just thrilled to be in a community full of not just makeup-happy, but loving and supportive ladies.


So sorry to hear. Big hugs to you! My thoughts and prayers are with  you and your family.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Babs28 (Aug 4, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> Hi ladies, just wanted to pop in real quick and say if I disappear for the next few days/weeks, I have not swaplifted you my dear swapper!
> 
> My sister ended up passing on Saturday night so it's going to be a whirlwind around here. I am still lurking a bit around here as a distraction but seeing as my package is still en route/surprising me, I have no clue yet when I'll be able to reveal it.
> 
> You all have been a great source of laughter and comfort to me the past few months, without even knowing it and I am just thrilled to be in a community full of not just makeup-happy, but loving and supportive ladies.


I'm so sorry for your loss @rachelshine. Take all the time that you need.  We will be here waiting for you with hugs and understanding ands comfort.  You and your family are in my thoughts.  Please know that we are here for you, whatever you need.   :hugs3:


----------



## jayeme (Aug 4, 2014)

@@rachelshine I'm so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you &amp; your family, and I'm glad that MUT can provide you some comfort.


----------



## Lolo22 (Aug 4, 2014)

Well if anyone thought the balloons were a good idea, they aren't! I went to put the card in the box and all but one was deflated  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## Babs28 (Aug 4, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Well if anyone thought the balloons were a good idea, they aren't! I went to put the card in the box and all but one was deflated  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Times like this I wish there was a "Dislike" button!!


----------



## sstich79 (Aug 4, 2014)

Aw, @@rachelshine, I'm so sorry. Will be thinking of you and yours.


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 4, 2014)

@@rachelshine sending lots of love and hugs your way.  I am so, so sorry.


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 4, 2014)

@Babs28...Did someone say Birthday????

:wizard:   Happy

  :wizard:   Happy

  :flowers:   :luv:


----------



## bonita22 (Aug 5, 2014)

I'm deeply sorry for your loss @@rachelshine, your family and you are in my prayers.


----------



## bonita22 (Aug 5, 2014)

Happy birthday @@Babs28! Hope you had a great day!


----------



## puppymomofthree (Aug 5, 2014)

I have a box on the way!!! Wahooooo! Just in time--with a broken bone in my back and one in my foot, my body now has a lovely cold, so I am ready for my box of happy! Taking today off to rest and take massive amounts of drugs (Wed-Fri this week are incredibly important days at my work).


----------



## jayeme (Aug 5, 2014)

My package should be here tomorrow!!!! I'm so excited! I've been so focused on the gift buying that I almost forgot to be excited about gift receiving!


----------



## SaraP (Aug 5, 2014)

Are there any reveals today?


----------



## Jac13 (Aug 5, 2014)

Guess what?!!! Guess what?!! I got my pretties!!! Sadly I could not find the user name. But Lacy, I LOVE IT!!!! I will be posting my goodies soon. Thank you so much!!


----------



## marigoldsue (Aug 6, 2014)

Well the twins have been shipped, and I feel like I went through labor!

And swap buddy, I have to ask you to overlook something.  I have horrible handwriting, so I typed up the notes on your gifts.  As I was folding them up to put in the package last night I noticed some grammar errors.  I swear I really do know the difference between there, their and they're.  It's just I am such a horrible typist that my brain is several sentences ahead of my fingers, so sometimes things get messed up.

Thank you for giving me the chance to get to know you and shop for you.  It has been the highlight of my summer.  I really feel like I have made a new friend   :luv:


----------



## dancersmum (Aug 6, 2014)

Something arrived me but I don't know who my swap buddy is yet!!  Thank you though...I'm so excited...can't wait until I can actually see whats in it.


----------



## dancersmum (Aug 6, 2014)

@@rachelshine - I'm so sorry...my thoughts are with you... :hugs3:


----------



## jayeme (Aug 6, 2014)

My package is out for delivery! Is it a little crazy if I drive home at lunch to pick it up if it's arrived already?? I don't know if I can wait until 5:00! And I only live about 15 minutes away, there's plenty of time...


----------



## jayeme (Aug 6, 2014)

And also to my own buddy.....soooo sorry, you don't know who you are yet but I still don't have your package ready to be mailed. There's one more thing I want to get but can't seem to find anywhere, it may have to go without! I'm going to look one more place, but if I don't find it this afternoon, I'm going to mail it tomorrow anyway because I guess I have to, the end of the shipping window being Friday.


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## jayeme (Aug 6, 2014)

3rd post in a row from me but I'm kind of freaking out right now....I did go home on my lunch break because my package was scanned in as delivered at 12:32pm. I got home around 1:15....and my mailbox (in an apartment complex, part of a big unit of mailboxes) was wide open. The latch has been kind of faulty, and I'm hoping that it just swung upon when the mail guy shut the back of the mailbox, and that nothing was in it, not that someone took out my package in those 45 minutes....Besides, the mailbox isn't that big, so I'd expect that they would probably deliver the package to my apartment office. Well, I get to the apartment office and the guy says he hasn't seen the mail carrier all day, but sometimes they drive to the end of the street and then deliver all the packages at once to the office. But I drove to the end of the street and didn't see the mail truck. So I'm kind of freaking out, but hopefully it's all for nothing and my package will be in the office safe and sound when I get home from work. Cross your fingers for me, guys.


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## marigoldsue (Aug 6, 2014)

jayeme said:


> 3rd post in a row from me but I'm kind of freaking out right now....I did go home on my lunch break because my package was scanned in as delivered at 12:32pm. I got home around 1:15....and my mailbox (in an apartment complex, part of a big unit of mailboxes) was wide open. The latch has been kind of faulty, and I'm hoping that it just swung upon when the mail guy shut the back of the mailbox, and that nothing was in it, not that someone took out my package in those 45 minutes....Besides, the mailbox isn't that big, so I'd expect that they would probably deliver the package to my apartment office. Well, I get to the apartment office and the guy says he hasn't seen the mail carrier all day, but sometimes they drive to the end of the street and then deliver all the packages at once to the office. But I drove to the end of the street and didn't see the mail truck. So I'm kind of freaking out, but hopefully it's all for nothing and my package will be in the office safe and sound when I get home from work. Cross your fingers for me, guys.


Ugh.  I would be stressing out all afternoon.  At Christmastime I actually had a package showing as delivered in the USPS system.  And I had nothing at my house.  The next day, the mailman delivered it.  I think he just got lazy and quit before he got everything delivered the first day.  I was thinking about that just yesterday and how I would freak if something like that happened with one of the packages I sent o my buddy.  I hope yours is safe!


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## jayeme (Aug 6, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> Ugh.  I would be stressing out all afternoon.  At Christmastime I actually had a package showing as delivered in the USPS system.  And I had nothing at my house.  The next day, the mailman delivered it.  I think he just got lazy and quit before he got everything delivered the first day.  I was thinking about that just yesterday and how I would freak if something like that happened with one of the packages I sent o my buddy.  I hope yours is safe!


I hope that's what happened to mine...it's still not here, and I'm freaking out big time! I guess I can call the post office tomorrow, but if their tracking says it was delivered I don't know if they'll be able to help me...


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## Lolo22 (Aug 6, 2014)

jayeme said:


> 3rd post in a row from me but I'm kind of freaking out right now....I did go home on my lunch break because my package was scanned in as delivered at 12:32pm. I got home around 1:15....and my mailbox (in an apartment complex, part of a big unit of mailboxes) was wide open. The latch has been kind of faulty, and I'm hoping that it just swung upon when the mail guy shut the back of the mailbox, and that nothing was in it, not that someone took out my package in those 45 minutes....Besides, the mailbox isn't that big, so I'd expect that they would probably deliver the package to my apartment office. Well, I get to the apartment office and the guy says he hasn't seen the mail carrier all day, but sometimes they drive to the end of the street and then deliver all the packages at once to the office. But I drove to the end of the street and didn't see the mail truck. So I'm kind of freaking out, but hopefully it's all for nothing and my package will be in the office safe and sound when I get home from work. Cross your fingers for me, guys.


Hopefully he just decided not to leave it if he noticed the latch was wonky!! I can't imagine anyone stealing someone else's package (I know it happens, but it has to be fairly uncommon or else people really suck) much less in such a short time frame  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I hope it shows up tomorrow!

I have had a neighbor's (who I never met) package put in our mailbox and I walked it over when I got home.  Maybe someone rescued it from potential thievery and is waiting for you to get home to bring it to you???  Fingers crossed!


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## marigoldsue (Aug 6, 2014)

So I am driving home in a torrential downpour and traffic is all backed up. I was on the phone with my son and asked him if he got the replacement TV that was delivered in to the house before the rain started today. I was about to hang up the phone when I asked him if I has another package. He said yes, from Ulta. I didn't order anything from Ulta. He told me it had cupcakes and hearts all over it!!!! He have me initials and a state and I am pretty sure I know who it is from. If this traffic ever clears....

(Yes, I did pull over and stop on a side street to post)


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## jayeme (Aug 6, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Hopefully he just decided not to leave it if he noticed the latch was wonky!! I can't imagine anyone stealing someone else's package (I know it happens, but it has to be fairly uncommon or else people really suck) much less in such a short time frame  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I hope it shows up tomorrow!
> 
> I have had a neighbor's (who I never met) package put in our mailbox and I walked it over when I got home.  Maybe someone rescued it from potential thievery and is waiting for you to get home to bring it to you???  Fingers crossed!



Apparently it's in a medium flat rate box, which, if it's the size I'm thinking of, I don't even think would fit in the mailbox....I have a note on my door to leave packages in the apartment office (since they kept taking them back to the post office before I put that up), but the office says they never got it.  I am really worried about it now, but I guess I'll give it until tomorrow and hope it turns up and call the post office if not.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## marigoldsue (Aug 6, 2014)

HA! When she posted the pretties all wrapped up, I had a pretty good idea that @ just might be my buddy. My favorite colors and the flowers my daughter loved. I might get to open a few before I have to take my son to dinner. But the reveal post won't be up for a few hours.

Good time to see if I know how to do spoilers,



Spoiler











]

Jess, I am so excited to see what you have picked out for me.  And so incredibly touched that in the midst of a hectic summer, you took time out just for me!

ETA:  And obviously I don't....


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## trekkersangel (Aug 6, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> HA! When she posted the pretties all wrapped up, I had a pretty good idea that @ just might be my buddy. My favorite colors and the flowers my daughter loved. I might get to open a few before I have to take my son to dinner. But the reveal post won't be up for a few hours.
> 
> Good time to see if I know how to do spoilers,
> 
> ...


Jess, the wrapping turned out beautiful!!!  Love it!!  Can't wait to see all your pretties!!!  You deserve the best of the best!

ETA: Try this:  [ spoiler ] then have your pics here [ /spoiler ]

but don't put any spaces in the spoiler brackets. . . that's what hides it.


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## wadedl (Aug 6, 2014)

marigoldsue said:


> HA! When she posted the pretties all wrapped up, I had a pretty good idea that @ just might be my buddy. My favorite colors and the flowers my daughter loved. I might get to open a few before I have to take my son to dinner. But the reveal post won't be up for a few hours.
> 
> Good time to see if I know how to do spoilers,
> 
> ...


So pretty!


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## sstich79 (Aug 6, 2014)

Eep, I'm excited and nervous... my package was delivered today, so someone should be opening this little pile of goodies tonight, if she hasn't already!



Spoiler


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## valeried44 (Aug 6, 2014)

sstich79 said:


> Eep, I'm excited and nervous... my package was delivered today, so someone should be opening this little pile of goodies tonight, if she hasn't already!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Cute wrapping!!


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## marigoldsue (Aug 7, 2014)

Eeek....someone's box(es) are out for delivery!  Now, how do I get any work done today without obsessively checking tracking to see when they are delivered?


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## Lolo22 (Aug 7, 2014)

My person's package was delivered.  Hopefully we see some reveals today  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## trekkersangel (Aug 7, 2014)

HOLY CRAP!!!!!  THREE boxes were on my doorstep when I got home from my 6 kids' dental appts. this afternoon!

Mari!!!!!!!!!   I can't believe we've been chatting it up for the last few months &amp; I had no idea you were my swap buddy!!!!

I love you @@marigoldsue

Now to open my spoils &amp; take lots of pictures. . . . (I have a meeting tonight, but I'll try to post a reveal before if I can, but definitely after if I can't beforehand!!!)


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## Lolo22 (Aug 7, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> HOLY CRAP!!!!!  THREE boxes were on my doorstep when I got home from my 6 kids' dental appts. this afternoon!
> 
> Mari!!!!!!!!!   I can't believe we've been chatting it up for the last few months &amp; I had no idea you were my swap buddy!!!!
> 
> ...


YAY!!! Can't wait to see this one!!!


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## marigoldsue (Aug 7, 2014)

trekkersangel said:


> HOLY CRAP!!!!!  THREE boxes were on my doorstep when I got home from my 6 kids' dental appts. this afternoon!
> 
> Mari!!!!!!!!!   I can't believe we've been chatting it up for the last few months &amp; I had no idea you were my swap buddy!!!!
> 
> ...


Sorry to disappoint, but only two of them are for you.  The third is for the dental patients  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Hope everything arrived safely, there was simply no room for bubble wrap and cushioning.  And hope you find some new treasures.  You were so much fun to put a package, okay two pakceages, together for!  :hugs3:


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## jayeme (Aug 7, 2014)

So it looks like my package is officially lost/stolen  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I called the post office but the lady who answered was unhelpful and just kept repeating that the tracking said it had been delivered....I KNOW that! The problem is that it's not actually here! I don't know if it was delivered wrongly, delivered correctly and stolen, or what, but I guess there's no way to find out now, and I am incredibly upset &amp; disappointed. Not just that I won't be getting a gift, which is sad of course, but mostly that all the hard work I know my buddy must have put into it is just lost and I won't get to see it and I won't know what she picked out for me. I'm sure it was wonderful, though.


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## marigoldsue (Aug 7, 2014)

jayeme said:


> So it looks like my package is officially lost/stolen  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I called the post office but the lady who answered was unhelpful and just kept repeating that the tracking said it had been delivered....I KNOW that! The problem is that it's not actually here! I don't know if it was delivered wrongly, delivered correctly and stolen, or what, but I guess there's no way to find out now, and I am incredibly upset &amp; disappointed. Not just that I won't be getting a gift, which is sad of course, but mostly that all the hard work I know my buddy must have put into it is just lost and I won't get to see it and I won't know what she picked out for me. I'm sure it was wonderful, though.


 Oh this is just heartbreaking.


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## wadedl (Aug 7, 2014)

jayeme said:


> So it looks like my package is officially lost/stolen  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I called the post office but the lady who answered was unhelpful and just kept repeating that the tracking said it had been delivered....I KNOW that! The problem is that it's not actually here! I don't know if it was delivered wrongly, delivered correctly and stolen, or what, but I guess there's no way to find out now, and I am incredibly upset &amp; disappointed. Not just that I won't be getting a gift, which is sad of course, but mostly that all the hard work I know my buddy must have put into it is just lost and I won't get to see it and I won't know what she picked out for me. I'm sure it was wonderful, though.


NOOOO! Maybe it will show up! I once had the UPS guy mis-deliver a huge package like you can fit a human in this box and he personally went to track it down on his free time and brought it to me on the weekend. There could still be a happy ending.


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## jayeme (Aug 7, 2014)

wadedl said:


> NOOOO! Maybe it will show up! I once had the UPS guy mis-deliver a huge package like you can fit a human in this box and he personally went to track it down on his free time and brought it to me on the weekend. There could still be a happy ending.


I'm never home when the mail is delivered so I can't talk to my mail carrier in person unless I manage to catch him Saturday (doubtful; my apartment faces away from the mailboxes and the they come anywhere in a 3 hour time block, so my actually seeing him there is unlikely to happen). But I'm going to call the post office again tomorrow and see if I can get someone more helpful.


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## tgooberbutt (Aug 7, 2014)

jayeme said:


> So it looks like my package is officially lost/stolen  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I called the post office but the lady who answered was unhelpful and just kept repeating that the tracking said it had been delivered....I KNOW that! The problem is that it's not actually here! I don't know if it was delivered wrongly, delivered correctly and stolen, or what, but I guess there's no way to find out now, and I am incredibly upset &amp; disappointed. Not just that I won't be getting a gift, which is sad of course, but mostly that all the hard work I know my buddy must have put into it is just lost and I won't get to see it and I won't know what she picked out for me. I'm sure it was wonderful, though.


I am so sorry!  Is there any recourse left on your side with the USPS or the apt complex?


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## SaraP (Aug 7, 2014)

:scared: Oh No! Maybe you can leave a note for him/she in your mailbox...they may remember if they left it or not.


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## Dashery (Aug 7, 2014)

It'll turn up! It has to! The makeup gods command it!

Also, leaving a note sounds worth a shot.


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## jennm149 (Aug 7, 2014)

@@jayeme - oh no! I hope it can be found. Did you call your local PO or just the 800 #? Don't know if you can do this, but if you can find out the local office where the carrier picks up the mail to deliver, you might have better luck.

Fingers and toes crossed'


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## jayeme (Aug 7, 2014)

tgooberbutt said:


> I am so sorry!  Is there any recourse left on your side with the USPS or the apt complex?


Thanks! The apartment complex claims no responsibility for the mail, but I'm going to try with USPS and see what I can do.



sarap said:


> :scared: Oh No! Maybe you can leave a note for him/she in your mailbox...they may remember if they left it or not.


That is a good idea, I think I'll do that for Saturday's mail if I don't get any good answers tomorrow.



Dashery said:


> It'll turn up! It has to! The makeup gods command it!
> 
> Also, leaving a note sounds worth a shot.


Praying to the makeup gods! I really hope it wasn't left and then stolen, though. That's kind of my fear.



jennm149 said:


> @@jayeme - oh no! I hope it can be found. Did you call your local PO or just the 800 #? Don't know if you can do this, but if you can find out the local office where the carrier picks up the mail to deliver, you might have better luck.
> 
> Fingers and toes crossed'


Called the local PO, but I'm going to bother them in person about it tomorrow when I go to mail my package. It's the last day and I guess I'm just going to have to give up on the last item I was trying to find! So I'll be there anyway and maybe someone will be able to help me.


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## valeried44 (Aug 7, 2014)

@@jayeme  I hope that it shows up!  A good neighbor, a helpful postal carrier, someone at the post office willing to go above and beyond... something has to happen.  I can understand how upset you must feel.  It's not just another online order, but a gift that someone put a lot of thought and time into.


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## Jac13 (Aug 7, 2014)

jayeme said:


> So it looks like my package is officially lost/stolen  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I called the post office but the lady who answered was unhelpful and just kept repeating that the tracking said it had been delivered....I KNOW that! The problem is that it's not actually here! I don't know if it was delivered wrongly, delivered correctly and stolen, or what, but I guess there's no way to find out now, and I am incredibly upset &amp; disappointed. Not just that I won't be getting a gift, which is sad of course, but mostly that all the hard work I know my buddy must have put into it is just lost and I won't get to see it and I won't know what she picked out for me. I'm sure it was wonderful, though.


I am so sorry to hear this. I hope it shows up.


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## nolongeravaliable15 (Aug 7, 2014)

Just got home &amp; found a package from @@Lolo22 omg you're amazing! I love everything, going to post pictures soon


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## SaraP (Aug 8, 2014)

Ooooh excited for this reveal!


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## jayeme (Aug 8, 2014)

valeried44 said:


> @@jayeme  I hope that it shows up!  A good neighbor, a helpful postal carrier, someone at the post office willing to go above and beyond... something has to happen.  I can understand how upset you must feel.  It's not just another online order, but a gift that someone put a lot of thought and time into.


Exactly, if it was just an order it could be replaced, but this is not something I can just order a replacement for! I'm still trying to track it down, I hope it is able to be found.



Jac13 said:


> I am so sorry to hear this. I hope it shows up.


Thank you. For anyone else who is curious, the update is this: I just called my post office again, and this time I spoke to a much more helpful person. She told me that she would speak with the carrier when he returns from his route and call me back. So hopefully he remembers something.


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## wadedl (Aug 8, 2014)

My package says delivered!


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## SaraP (Aug 8, 2014)

Well I just did something stupid :blink:  ...We put an offer in on a house, it's a cash offer and we'd close in 10 days if they say yes, yikes! We also would have to put our house on the market this week! So much to do, so if I'm MIA that's why. Not to worry swap buddy, I will drop everything if my box comes  :smilehappyyes:


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## tgooberbutt (Aug 9, 2014)

sarap said:


> Well I just did something stupid :blink:  ...We put an offer in on a house, it's a cash offer and we'd close in 10 days if they say yes, yikes! We also would have to put our house on the market this week! So much to do, so if I'm MIA that's why. Not to worry swap buddy, I will drop everything if my box comes  :smilehappyyes:


Gooooood luck!!!! It's crazy out there!!!


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## CurlyTails (Aug 9, 2014)

@@SaraP Happy house buying!


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## jayeme (Aug 9, 2014)

Good luck @@SaraP !

My updates: the post office never called me back so I called them today and the woman said that my regular mail carrier is actually off until Monday and they will speak to him then and ask if he remembers the package. 

Also on Monday, my swap buddy should be getting her package! I hope she likes it, I'm nervous!


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## rachelshine (Aug 9, 2014)

@@jayeme ugh, I hope your package shows up  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> You are far too sweet to get stolen from!!!

I am currently stalking the mailman, I am supposed to get my package today according to a roadie!! No tracking number was giving so hopefully I get it ASAP!


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## jayeme (Aug 9, 2014)

rachelshine said:


> @@jayeme ugh, I hope your package shows up  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> You are far too sweet to get stolen from!!!
> 
> I am currently stalking the mailman, I am supposed to get my package today according to a roadie!! No tracking number was giving so hopefully I get it ASAP!


Thank you. I don't have really high hopes at this point but maybe the mail carrier will be helpful.

That's so exciting! I hope it comes soon and that you don't scare your mailman too badly when he arrives  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Aug 9, 2014)

OH MY GOSH MY BOX IS HERE!!!!!! :w00t:   :w00t:   :w00t:   :w00t:   :w00t:


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## Kelly Silva (Aug 9, 2014)

I got my box I got my box!!! Thank you @@jesemiaud! I'm not home at the moment, but I made my mom tell me who my box was from. I'll reveal on Monday when I get home, but I can't wait!!!


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## jesemiaud (Aug 9, 2014)

Kelly Silva said:


> I got my box I got my box!!! Thank you @@jesemiaud! I'm not home at the moment, but I made my mom tell me who my box was from. I'll reveal on Monday when I get home, but I can't wait!!!


I'm glad it got made it! I hope you like it!


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## Lolo22 (Aug 9, 2014)

Guys!! We were out all day and never got the mail til really late, but my package came!!! It's from @ eeeeek!!! I love it!!


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## quene8106 (Aug 10, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Guys!! We were out all day and never got the mail til really late, but my package came!!! It's from @ eeeeek!!! I love it!!


yay! i'm glad that you like it. the second part of your gift is coming on monday or tuesday, per the tracking info i have   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dotybird (Aug 11, 2014)

Eek! I got my box from @@Kelly Silva! I was on vacation last week so I just got to the office now and will open it and post pics as soon as I can. I am so excited!


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## Lolo22 (Aug 11, 2014)

nc42 said:


> yay! i'm glad that you like it. the second part of your gift is coming on monday or tuesday, per the tracking info i have   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Oh my gosh, I'm so excited!!! Thank you so much, I'm getting so many compliments on the pen!!! :lol: :lol:


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## Kelly Silva (Aug 11, 2014)

@@dotybird Yay! I was waiting on pins and needles for you to get back from vacation. I'm glad it made it ok!


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## tulosai (Aug 11, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Thank you. I don't have really high hopes at this point but maybe the mail carrier will be helpful.
> 
> That's so exciting! I hope it comes soon and that you don't scare your mailman too badly when he arrives  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


I just wanted to say if it was in a flat rate box, I am not sure if you have recourse, but your buddy might.  Those are insured for up to $50. The problem is they did say they delivered it so they will probably try to claim they aren't liable, but I bet if your buddy was persistent she might be able to get the $.  This would obviously not be a replacement for the package itself but might enable her to replace some of what was in it if she felt inclined to do so.

I honestly am heartbroken that this happened to you.


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## SaraP (Aug 11, 2014)

@@tulosai I was just thinking that same thing! Hope things all work out.


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## Bizgirlva (Aug 11, 2014)

tulosai said:


> I just wanted to say if it was in a flat rate box, I am not sure if you have recourse, but your buddy might.  Those are insured for up to $50. The problem is they did say they delivered it so they will probably try to claim they aren't liable, but I bet if your buddy was persistent she might be able to get the $.  This would obviously not be a replacement for the package itself but might enable her to replace some of what was in it if she felt inclined to do so.
> 
> I honestly am heartbroken that this happened to you.


I've put a claim on the the box.  Waiting on USPS to respond.


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## jayeme (Aug 11, 2014)

tulosai said:


> I just wanted to say if it was in a flat rate box, I am not sure if you have recourse, but your buddy might.  Those are insured for up to $50. The problem is they did say they delivered it so they will probably try to claim they aren't liable, but I bet if your buddy was persistent she might be able to get the $.  This would obviously not be a replacement for the package itself but might enable her to replace some of what was in it if she felt inclined to do so.
> 
> I honestly am heartbroken that this happened to you.





sarap said:


> @@tulosai I was just thinking that same thing! Hope things all work out.





Bizgirlva said:


> I've put a claim on the the box.  Waiting on USPS to respond.


Yes @@Bizgirlva is really on top of things!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Even though I haven't seen what she sent me, she is still a great swap buddy!


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## Bizgirlva (Aug 11, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Yes @@Bizgirlva is really on top of things!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Even though I haven't seen what she sent me, she is still a great swap buddy!


Thanks! I promise there was awesome stuff in there.


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## jayeme (Aug 11, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> Thanks! I promise there was awesome stuff in there.


I believe you!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> And who knows, maybe it'll still turn up.


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## emilylithium (Aug 11, 2014)

after all the fiasco about getting my work authorization to come back to the states business, i am finally back! Just picked up a priority shipping box and wrapping up everything. Sorry to my swap buddy for the delay, hope you will like the stuff i picked out for you once you receive it.


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## emilylithium (Aug 11, 2014)

jayeme said:


> I believe you!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> And who knows, maybe it'll still turn up.


really hope everything works out for you in the end.


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## jayeme (Aug 11, 2014)

emilylithium said:


> really hope everything works out for you in the end.


Thanks  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

And on a happier note, my buddy's package was delivered today! I don't think she knows it's coming (I asked a roadie to tell her but I don't think that person has been online since I sent the message, which is fine, surprises are good) and I hope it arrived safely! I'm so impatient, and nervous -- I hope she likes it!


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## emilylithium (Aug 11, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Thanks  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> And on a happier note, my buddy's package was delivered today! I don't think she knows it's coming (I asked a roadie to tell her but I don't think that person has been online since I sent the message, which is fine, surprises are good) and I hope it arrived safely! I'm so impatient, and nervous -- I hope she likes it!


someone is going to be really happy today!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## valeried44 (Aug 11, 2014)

@emilylithium  Glad to hear you've made it back!


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## tulosai (Aug 11, 2014)

After some delays by the post office, my buddy should have hers tomorrow!!


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## Lolo22 (Aug 11, 2014)

jayeme said:


> Yes @@Bizgirlva is really on top of things!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Even though I haven't seen what she sent me, she is still a great swap buddy!


If the claim doesn't work out for some reason, please post your summerswap wish list! I would be happy to volunteer to send you a little something  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> everyone here must get a gift or the makeup cherubs will cry!!


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## rachelshine (Aug 11, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> If the claim doesn't work out for some reason, please post your summerswap wish list! I would be happy to volunteer to send you a little something  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> everyone here must get a gift or the makeup cherubs will cry!!


Same here!! I am so sad for you @@jayeme!! Sending out curses if someone stole your package.


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## chelsealady (Aug 11, 2014)

Ditto. If it doesn't work out, count on me to help out.


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## jayeme (Aug 11, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> If the claim doesn't work out for some reason, please post your summerswap wish list! I would be happy to volunteer to send you a little something  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> everyone here must get a gift or the makeup cherubs will cry!!





rachelshine said:


> Same here!! I am so sad for you @@jayeme!! Sending out curses if someone stole your package.





chelsealady said:


> Ditto. If it doesn't work out, count on me to help out.



That's so sweet of you all! MUT is full of such nice people and such positive vibes, totally the opposite of so many parts of the internet and I just really appreciate it. Babs did say that even if we can't get anything worked out I'll be getting some kind of package in the mail, so I guess there is a contingency plan of sorts.


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## BSquared (Aug 11, 2014)

Count me in too! I'm semi broke but no buy isn't broken if it's for someone else and I can always spare a few bucks to make someone happy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## CurlyTails (Aug 11, 2014)

I also volunteer! Everyone should have hand picked pretties!


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## heath67013 (Aug 11, 2014)

Hi guys! I'm late on sending my package out and I promise it will be out on Wednesday. My friend past away and it's been a horrible week.

So my deepest apologies to my giftee.


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## BSquared (Aug 12, 2014)

I HAVE A BOX COMING!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## SaraP (Aug 12, 2014)

Yay (dancing banana, dancing banana, dancing banana)


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## Lolo22 (Aug 12, 2014)

Eeeeeppp!! My second course package came!! I just got home from the gym and had a 9:30 PM dinner (boo) before I saw the package! Omg @ you are amazing  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## quene8106 (Aug 13, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Eeeeeppp!! My second course package came!! I just got home from the gym and had a 9:30 PM dinner (boo) before I saw the package! Omg @ you are amazing  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Thank you! I'm glad that you love your goodies! Enjoy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## quene8106 (Aug 13, 2014)

Lolo22 said:


> Eeeeeppp!! My second course package came!! I just got home from the gym and had a 9:30 PM dinner (boo) before I saw the package! Omg @ you are amazing  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


do u mind posting a pic? i want to see how the gift came out  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## dancersmum (Aug 13, 2014)

please let us know what happens...I'm happy to chip in for @@jayeme - but it may have to wait till next week...I'm on the road still!


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## Lolo22 (Aug 13, 2014)

nc42 said:


> do u mind posting a pic? i want to see how the gift came out  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


Yes it's too perfect not to be photographed! I was too exhausted last night but will post now  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## emilylithium (Aug 13, 2014)

my person's package is making its way there and should arrive by tomorrow. yay!


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## jayeme (Aug 16, 2014)

Hi everyone, just an update from me -- 

I spoke to the post office several times before someone even talked to my mail carrier, finally on Thursday they told me he didn't remember anything about the package. So I guess probably it was stolen.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I just hate this, I hate that I didn't get to see what @@Bizgirlva picked out for me, I hate that all her effort was stolen by some creeper, I hate talking on the phone so I hated the whole trying to track it down process, and I'm just really sad about how this turned out  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

@@Bizgirlva, any luck putting a claim on the package with usps?


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## Bizgirlva (Aug 16, 2014)

So sorry I just saw this, how unfortunate  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I submitted a claim last week, it's STILL pending.


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## jayeme (Aug 16, 2014)

Bizgirlva said:


> So sorry I just saw this, how unfortunate  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
> 
> I submitted a claim last week, it's STILL pending.


No worries, I just posted it today - wasn't online much towards the end of the week as I had family in town. Do let me know if you hear anything. I guess I don't really have high hopes, though, but it's so sad as I've never even had a really negative experience with USPS before. But this is just awful. Of all the things that could've been lost/stolen, this is the worst.


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## jocedun (Aug 17, 2014)

Ugh, that sucks so much about the lost package, ladies! I'm sorry! I've had a few close calls with USPS misdelivering or losing a package, but never this bad.

Once they marked a package as delivered, but I was sure it had not been. So, I called, filed the claim, etc, everything you have all done. They basically told me that it must have been delivered and someone in the building stole it (but we have a locked mail room with a doorman, so I knew that wasn't the case). Anyway, the package finally arrived... 5 days later. I imagine that it had been hiding somewhere in the delivery vehicle and eventually made its way back to me. Anyway, I hope something like this happens for you @@jayeme! Maybe it will magically appear in a week because someone just dropped the ball. Here's hoping!


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## ashleylind (Aug 17, 2014)

I would like to help out as well.


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## bonita22 (Aug 18, 2014)

I got my gift today! Just opened it and it's fabulous! This is box one of three, my very mysterious swap buddy won't reveal her identity until box three. Thank you so much whoever you are. I can say that she is awesome! I have to run some errands, so I'll post my reveal later on this evening.


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## bonita22 (Aug 18, 2014)

@@jayeme I would love to send you something as well.


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## BexDev (Aug 18, 2014)

bonita22 said:


> I got my gift today! Just opened it and it's fabulous! This is box one of three, my very mysterious swap buddy won't reveal her identity until box three. Thank you so much whoever you are. I can say that she is awesome! I have to run some errands, so I'll post my reveal later on this evening.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I am *IN LOVE* with this card...it's absolutely beautiful!  Looking forward to your reveal!


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## dancersmum (Aug 18, 2014)

how many more reveals do we have?  I will be sad when we are all done....


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## Bizgirlva (Aug 21, 2014)

My claim on the package for @@jayeme was denied.    /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Because USPS tracking says it was delivered.


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## jayeme (Aug 24, 2014)

YOU GUYS YOU GUYS! GUESS WHAT! IT IS A POST OFFICE MIRACLE!!!!!!! @@Bizgirlva ! I just got home after being out of town for a few days, and guess what was waiting for me???? MY SUMMERSWAP PACKAGE!!!! I don't know where it's been for the past few weeks but it's here now!! Actually apparently they left a notice for it on Thursday like it was no big deal, and my friend who was picking up my mail for me went to get it since he was going there anyway (and he didn't tell me while I was gone because he didn't realize it was important apparently). BUT NOW IT IS HERE!!! I am going to open it now and will be back with pictures shortly! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!!!!


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